Hagerty Does What and For How Much Money?

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This was a slide that the Hagerty representative showed to residents to explain the firm’s mission.

Harrison Newton, a representative from Hagerty, a private consulting firm, appeared before the Pacific Palisades Community Council on April 10. The firm had been selected by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on February 7 to assist with infrastructure restoration and environmental mitigation caused by the Palisades Fire.

More than 233 residents joined the PPCC Zoom meeting to hear about tangible fire recovery steps provided by Hagerty.

“We are here to and work and support the Emergency Management Department in the City,” Newton said, and showed some slides about what Hagerty feels is important in recovery.

But after nearly 40 minutes, people turned surly. Numerous people asked specific questions which went unanswered.

Newton answered one question, about how his Midwestern firm could help people in this disaster, but “The other questions, please we’ll capture those and we’ll make sure we’ll give a thorough answer.”

The lack of answers and concrete information had an impact on the residents.

One man said, “I’m angry I spent 25 minutes listening to you speak and I don’t know what you said.”

That thought was repeated by others.

Rob Weber, who is a member of the Park Advisory Board and whose Huntington Home burned, said “What the community is looking for is doers and action as opposed to words of support and standing shoulder to shoulder. We’re looking for action.”

One listener said, “I just want one specific of what you’ve done. I’m looking for a concrete example of what you did, and I want to hear it now and not later. Just one thing.”

“Loan processing is faster,” Newton said, and added the firm provided “augmentation support,” meaning they could handle the emergency issues, leaving the City to continue to operate without pulling people away from other jobs.

After the meeting CTN reached out to the City for specifics in what Hagerty has done.

A city spokesperson responded in an April 14 email. “The City brought Hagerty on to help during the emergency and to align with the County on the recovery effort (Also hiring the firm were LA County and CalOES – California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services).

“They’re hourly, and the contract is not to exceed $10M for up to a year,” the City spokesperson said and noted that Hagerty is being paid only for the work they do, not $10 million dollars upfront. CTN asked for the hourly rate and if it is received, the story will be updated. (Note: The City replied last night that “The hourly rate ranges from $80 to $245 depending on the firm’s services being provided.) 

The City spokesperson said that a new Request for a Proposal process has been opened by the City and that Hagerty will have to apply for it among other applicants to continue its role.

According to the City the projects Hagerty completed or are ongoing include coordination across city, county and federal agencies on debris removal; successful drafting of justification letters for properties not typically eligible for US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) debris removal – this includes properties such as the library, successfully cleared by USACE and requests for clearance of commercial sites and traffic management technical support.

Other areas the city received help was for recovery training for City staff; updates to the City’s website to improve access to recovery information for impacted communities; ongoing research to address key recovery challenges such as permitting fees and security considerations.

CTN also reached out to the County to Public Information Officer Helen Chavez Garcia, who responded that “Haggerty’s scope of work is managed by LA County’s Office of Emergency Management.”

Emily Montanez of OEM responded that: “Early in the incident, the County was certain the January fires had the possibility of being the most impactful and most devastating in its history.

“Hagerty Consulting was engaged by the County of Los Angeles to augment a variety of staffing needs within the Office of Emergency Management and Emergency Operations Center. Several areas of focus for the consulting firm were to assist with response, short-term and long-term recovery, and building out a structure to ensure alignment with different facets of the disaster.

“Hagerty Consulting was hired to assist with coordinating the complex approach needed to swiftly, but methodically, guide the County into a successful recovery phase for the residents and communities impacted by the fires. Hagerty Consulting has assisted the County with getting information and resources to survivors as they move forward with rebuilding their lives and getting back to a certain level of new normal.”

The County contract with Hagerty was budgeted for $10 million over 12 months.  “To date, the County has paid for only the services received by the consultant which is only a portion of the full contract amount.”

The County, which also pays Hagerty by the hour, said “There is a rate schedule that is determined prior to the contract being finalized and that schedule lists all position and the maximum dollar amount for each. The hourly rate includes wages, materials, travels, general and administrative expenses.”

CTN reached out to CalOES, but had not heard back by presstime.

To listen to Hagerty Rep at the Community Council meeting, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hdGdzQCWh4  He appears at about 43 minutes into the tape and pointed out that “Recovery is a chance to become more resilient for the next disaster.”

(Editor’s note: Residents are not receiving help from the city, county or state and are starting to get frustrated. Instead they watch as the Army Corp of Engineers, which are extremely organized and efficient, take the debris off  properties. This town was once filled with tree-lined streets and neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone. There is a gap between insurance and the cost to rebuild, leaving people few options after the town was allowed to burn down. )

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