Recently, Baskerville-Donovan Program Development Specialists helped our friends at the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority secure $151 million in direct FEMA assistance. This award is the largest that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted in Florida history. Statewide, our efforts to assist our clients with funding projects and programs have been very successful. Over the past nine legislative cycles in Florida, our Program Development Specialists have secured over $700 million in funding assistance for our clients.
Almost all of our projects for cities, counties, utilities, special districts, and state agencies require some efforts in Planning, Public Administration, and Governmental Affairs if they are to be successful. Within the last several years, BDI has integrated comprehensive Program Development and Funding into its corporate mission. A result of this addition has been the increased emphasis on public and private project initiation from numerous federal, state and local funding assistance programs.
Hands down, Baskerville-Donovan has become the best engineering firm in the Florida funding business. When a need for funding is identified, but no state program is applicable, BDI helps to develop new programs that address the emerging need. When our small community clients begin to grow beyond their infrastructural capacities, BDI worked with our colleagues at FDEP and in the state legislature to develop and promote the Small Disadvantaged Communities Wastewater Program. Today, this important grant program is utilized by communities across the state. To date, sixteen multi-million dollar SDC wastewater grants have been awarded; of these, twelve are BDI clients.
We produce all the required documentation necessary to position our clients to receive external funding and obtain the proper authorization from state and federal agencies. Throughout the course of the project, our staff coordinates closely with the client and agency representatives and prepares the necessary documentation to meet the funding agency management and reporting requirements. We remain up-to-date and current with all existing and developing funding assistance programs including:
We have found that our clients appreciate working with an engineering firm that is intimately involved in program development and funding assistance. The key to our enormous success is simple: as engineers, we have the advantage of a detailed technical understanding of the programs we are supporting. Within the fine details of any program are opportunities for program enhancements and alternative funding strategies.
