NR 47.955(3)(e)(e) Fines and penalties due to violations of, or failure to comply with, federal, state or local laws or regulations.

NR 47.955(3)(f)(f) Ordinary applicant operating expenses, also called indirect costs, such as salaries and expenses of elected officials that are not directly related to urban forestry management.

NR 47.955(3)(g)(g) Costs incurred in a contract which creates a real or apparent conflict of interest.

NR 47.955(4)(4) Conflict of interest prohibition. An apparent conflict of interest arises when an official or employee of an applicant participates in the selection, awarding or administration of a contract supported by the grant and either:

NR 47.955(4)(a)(a) The official or employee, or his or her spouse or partner or children, has an ownership interest in the firm selected for the contract.

NR 47.955(4)(b)(b) A person identified in par. (a) receives a contract, gratuity or favor as a result of the award of the contract.

NR 47.955 HistoryHistory: CR 08-062: cr. Register May 2009 No. 641, eff. 6-1-09; correction in (2) (d) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register May 2010 No. 653.

NR 47.956(1)(1) The department shall review and consider, as a group, all applications postmarked within 60 days of each state of emergency declaration made by the governor. Each application in the group shall be evaluated for all of the following factors:

NR 47.956(1)(a)(a) Extent of tree damage in public areas, residential properties, businesses and natural areas.

NR 47.956(1)(b)(b) The damaged area within the applicant’s jurisdiction as a percentage of overall land area.

NR 47.956(1)(c)(c) Repair work needed in the categories of tree removal, stump grinding and cleanup; tree restoration; tree planting and the estimated cost of those repairs.

NR 47.956(2)(2) Each eligible applicant will share grant funding with all other reviewed applications in its group consistent with the provisions in s. NR 47.957 (3).

NR 47.957(1)(1) Source of grant funding. The department shall allocate up to 20% of the amount appropriated under s. 20.370 (5) (az) and (2) (mv), Stats., for grants issued under this subchapter. An individual grant awarded by the department under this subchapter may range from not less than $4,000 and not more than $50,000.

NR 47.957(2)(2) Restrictions. The department may not award funds under this subchapter if eligible costs were received by the applicant from any of the following sources:

NR 47.957(3)(3) Allocation of funds.

NR 47.957(3)(a)(a) All eligible applicants following the governor’s state of emergency declaration will share grant funds available under this subchapter at that time. If grant funds are insufficient to fully fund all eligible applicants, the department will pro-rate available funds among all eligible applicants until funds are exhausted.

NR 47.957(3)(b)(b) The department shall issue a grant agreement to all eligible applicants that receive grant funds. The grant agreement shall be signed by the applicant’s authorized representative and returned to the department within 30 days of the date of the agreement. Failure of the applicant to sign and return the grant agreement by the deadline may result in the department canceling the agreement and awarding associated funds to another eligible applicant.

NR 47.957(4)(4) Applicant match. There is no match requirement for grants under this subchapter. It is anticipated that project costs will exceed available grant funding. Costs in excess of the grant award amount are the responsibility of the applicant.

NR 47.957(5)(5) Advance payments. Applicants may request from the department one advance payment not to exceed 50% of the total grant award amount. Applicants shall make this request, in writing, when returning the signed grant agreement to the department. The applicant shall maintain detailed records and proofs of payment to justify expenditure of any advance for a project under this subchapter. Applicants shall submit these proofs of payment when final reimbursement is requested.