Flood recovery assistance What: For assistance on FEMA repayment demands Where: Long-Term Flood Recovery Group of Boulder County Address: 1500 Kansas Ave., Suite 1D, Longmont Phone: 303-442-2178 More info: bocofloodrecovery.org

Call it the flood re-recovery.

Nearly 150 people in Boulder County have received notices from the Federal Emergency Management Administration stating that its audit process shows they may have received flood damage overpayments — and the feds now want their money back.

It’s early in the month for a showing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” but that’s what FEMA has some people thinking about in the face of the agency’s collection efforts.

According to Jerry DeFelice, a Denver-based spokesman for FEMA, 243 such letters — each an imposing eight pages in length — have gone out across Colorado, and 142 of those were sent to people in Boulder County.

Chris Meschuk, Boulder’s flood recovery coordinator for community services, alerted flood victims in the city to the letters, and recommended steps they can take if they need assistance in responding to FEMA.

“They don’t give out a massive amount of assistance to start with,” Meschuk said of the agency, “and these folks that had big impacts and are probably still struggling financially, are now being asked to pay back some of those funds.

“They probably have already spent them to get back on their feet, and this is going to pose a big financial challenge for those folks.”

The maximum payment can make to any individual for a recovery claim is $31,900. The audit process, officials said, is designed to identify the possibility of fraud or ineligibility, or whether insurance eventually covered the work in question.

‘It’s incompetence. Glaring incompetence’

Frasier Meadows resident Doug Brown and his wife are the recipients of such a letter.

Their fully-finished basement, which represents about half the living space of their ranch home, was deluged, causing about $50,000 in damage. Their insurance covered about $25,000 of that, and FEMA paid them $3,500.

The balance of their repairs was covered out of pocket -— and now FEMA wants its $3,500 back, arguing that the Browns’ insurance was sufficient to cover their damages.

“It’s incompetence. It’s glaring incompetence,” Brown said Wednesday. “There were two different sets of inspectors that came to the house. Had they gone through the house and said, ‘No, you’re not going to qualify,’ I would have said, ‘Thanks for checking it out.’

“But they gave us the money, which was very much needed, and a year after, we find out that we’ve got to pay that money back.”

The letters offer a 30-day window in which to pay, or a 60-day period in which to file an appeal. Having received their notice on Oct. 27, the Browns’ appeal opportunity expires Dec. 27.

“It’s the worst time (of year) to be doing it, for sure,” Brown said. “It sounds like the due date is two days after Christmas. It’s the worst time to pick. It’s so incompetent.

“Do your work from the beginning — and if we don’t qualify, fine.”

DeFelice acknowledged that for most, it is not the ideal season to be dealing with refunds to the federal government.

“I can certainly understand that sentiment, but I don’t have any real insight into the timing, how that is decided,” DeFelice said.

And he said this process is not unusual, following an event such as the September 2013 floods that ravaged Colorado’s Front Range.

“Typically, following a major disaster, we do have to do follow-up, and in a number of cases, for various reasons, we do ask that the money be returned to FEMA,” he said. “In some instances, people have the understanding that they may have been advanced money pending an insurance payment. And now they have received their settlement.”

DeFelice said that people who feel the repayment is not justified should avail themselves of the appeal process, and acknowledged that what currently appear to be “discrepancies” in their registration with FEMA might, upon further review, be resolved with money remaining in the recipients’ pockets.

“People who get these letters should read them carefully, and probably the best advice is, they’re going to be able to call our finance center, where they can maybe work out a payment plan,” DeFelice said. “Somebody who really is on the hook for a significant amount of money could work something out so that their hardship is lessened.”

Help in taking fear out of the process

Also lessening the hardship is the Longmont-based Long Term Flood Recovery Group of Boulder County, where people can receive free assistance with a wide range of recovery issues — including how to navigate the appeals process for the FEMA repayment letters.

The group’s case manager supervisor, Jan Freemond, knows how FEMA operates — from the inside.

“The good news, for me, is I worked for FEMA for five years. I even worked this particular disaster as a recovery center manager,” Freemond said.

The letters, she said, are “classic bureaucratic doublespeak.”

“The more I get into this, the more concerned I am for the people that we’re not reaching. The letters are very wordy, very confusing and very intimidating.

“I want to take the fear out of this process,” Freemond added. “We can give them basic information, or we can deal with their specific issues. We are here to make it understandable, and clear for everybody.”

Garry Sanfacon, Boulder County’s flood recovery manager, said his office also can be a resource for those holding a FEMA repayment demand letter.

“There are resources to help them with their appeals,” Sanfacon said. “I heard someone say, ‘I was just going to put it in the corner and ignore it.’

“That’s the worst thing you can do.”

Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan