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Fire Business Management


Contracting with the State | Travel | Personnel Wages | Equipment Rates | Fire Billing | Fire Management Agreements  | Operating Plans

This team secures, monitors, and maintains all the financial aspects for SD Wildland Fire on behalf of the State. We forecast, maintain, and ensure we stay within the constraints of the budget for the agency, which includes management of Federal Grants. This process includes, but is not limited to, collection of revenue and disbursement of funds to private landowners; contractors; Federal, City or County Agencies; and Cooperators/Volunteer Fire Departments (VFDs) along with payment of daily bills.

We continually monitor, enforce, validate, and certify all employees' time, travel and business expenses to ensure they are true in nature and abide by all the stringent State laws, rules, regulations, and guidelines as set forth by the Legislature for the State of SD. 

We work hand in hand with cooperators across the entire state of SD when they are called upon for any emergency incident within the United States or Canada. For this reason, it is imperative that the agreements the State has with any of these cooperators are accurate. These cooperator agreements identify the minimum requirements for personnel and equipment for that specific fire protection unit and identify additional handbooks such as the NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management supplements, and rules that must be adhered to, and provide guidance for business management while on incidents. These agreements also identify current personnel wages, equipment rates, and proper documentation required for reimbursement from the State for their expense of responding to these emergency incidents.

Once any resource or group of resources (VFDs or single resources) have completed their duty assignment, upon arrival back to home unit, if eligible, a cost statement with all supporting documentation is submitted to the State for reimbursement of expenses. After an incident has been deemed closed and the jurisdictional agency has been identified, South Dakota will bill that particular agency in accordance with the most current Cooperative Fire Management Agreement (guidelines between other Federal Agencies and the State of SD) for all allowable reimbursable costs incurred by the State.

 
Fire Admin Database (AG26)
 

Fire Business Staff

Joannah Tornow
Chief of Administration
Office: 605.939.8120
Brenda Even
Finance Officer
Office: 605.393.8115
Brandon Andersen
Management Analyst
Office: 605.393.8114
Abby Trobaugh
Finance Assistant
abby.trobaugh@state.sd.us
Main: 605.393.8011

 

Documentation

Use the forms below to provide updated contact, resource, and tax information to SDWF. Maintaining accurate records is a fundamental part of fast reimbursement and effective cooperation. Please send updates as soon as possible to Brandon Andersen. Resource changes must be annually reported to SDWF no later than January 31 to be listed in IROC by GPC in time for the upcoming fire season. A W-9 is required to initiate any agreement with the State. A W-9 is also required every calendar year to be reimbursed by the State. It is not necessary to submit a contact or resource form if there are no changes.

 

Contracting with the State

Fire departments may enter into two different agreements with the State. A Cooperative Agreement enables your department to be eligible for reimbursement for assisting in fire suppression on state and federal jurisdiction fires after the mutual aid period. If interested, a Cooperative Agreement also enables your department to be eligible for out of state assignments. A FEPP Agreement may be used to loan your department equipment such as vehicles for free. EMS only agencies may use an Ambulance Service Contract to be reimbursed for services when requested to stage for large fires. There is no obligation for your agency, fire or EMS, to provide services, however there are standards and requirements that must be met to participate and be eligible for payment.

 

When entering into a contract with the State, you must also provide a Certificate of Insurance, W-9, and be registered with the South Dakota Secretary of State office. All documents must match the legal entity name. Contact Brandon Andersen with any questions. All contract documents will be submitted to him as well.  



 

Travel

When in travel status, SD State employees and SD Cooperators will follow the State of SD guidelines for per diem and travel rates unless otherwise dictated in their agreement. 

 

Personnel Wages

When on an incident, SD State employees are set up in e-ISuite as "other" and "$0.00" because we use an estimated cost for them.  Fire Department personnel from Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Mitchell will also be set up in the same fashion.

SD Cooperators will be paid at the Forest Service Administratively Determined (AD) rates unless otherwise specified in their agreement.


 

Equipment Rates

Unless otherwise specified within current agreements, the below will be followed.

 

Fire Billing

If SD State resources or SD Volunteer Fire Departments/Cooperators are dispatched to an incident that is beyond the Initial Attack period, Great Plain Dispatch (GPC) will issue a resource order. If any of these resources are ordered to an out-of-state incident, there will ALWAYS be a resource order from GPC.  Crew Time Reports (CTRs) should be completed by all resources that are assigned to any incident.  If any of these are assigned to a Type 3 or larger incident, all personnel must demobilize, approve, and sign the Emergency Firefighter Time Report (OF288) and Emergency Equipment Use Invoice (OF286), if applicable, in the finance section at the incident. This is for both in-state and out-of-state incidents. 

If supplies need to be replaced and billed to the incident, they should be documented on the bottom of the CTR and a General Message Form in order to issue a supply order (S#) for replacement.  If fuel is received from an incident and no department or agency credit card is used, an Emergency Equipment Fuel Issue Ticket (OF297) will be issued.  These should be turned in to the finance section with daily CTRs. A copy will be provided to take back to the home unit when demobilizing. Upon return to the home station, whomever is responsible for preparing the Cost Statement will show these entries as a deduction from the equipment side of the statement.

ALL SD RESOURCES, COOPERATORS, AND/OR STATE EMPLOYEES WILL BRING ALL ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS BACK TO HOME UNIT.  State employees will turn in all documents to the Fire Business Staff, and Cooperators will turn in their documentation to the designated person at their respective departments so a cost statement can be submitted to the State for reimbursement.

Electronic Crew Time Report (eCTR) and electronic fire billing are now available and highly encouraged. Electronic billing saves both you and the State time and money. Bills are also processed faster, resulting in you recieving reimbursement quicker. Paper CTR's may still be used, however, they should be scanned and submitted electronically with the cost statement and any additional documents. If your department is unable to use electronic billing, all CTR's must be taped onto a piece of paper. No more than two CTR's per page. Place tape strips vertically on both sides on the CTR, not horizontally on the top and bottom. This prevents the paper from becoming jammed in our scanner.

Email fire bills to sdwffirebilling@state.sd.us

 

Fire Management Agreements

Interagency Cooperative Fire Management Agreement

Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center Supplemental Fire Project Agreement

 

Operating Plans

USFS Black Hills National Forest
Bureau of Land Management
Miles City Interagency Dispatch Center Operating Plan Agreement