Emergency declarations were extended another week Monday as city and county staff prepared paperwork for federal reimbursement of Hurricane Katrina-related costs.

Both the Warren County Board of Supervisors and the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed the resolutions at their respective meetings.

Government entities and certain nonprofits are eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency checks to cover added costs the first 60 days after a storm.

The deadline for government entities to receive 100 percent reimbursement is Oct. 30. After that, the maximum drops to 75 percent.

Each must renew emergency declarations every seven days until the deadline to maintain eligibility.

Cost totals and other paperwork were still being sorted in advance of the deadline.

&#8221It is very extensive and the documentation is monumental. It’s a full-time job,“ said Marcia Weaver, City Planning Department manager.

Among reimbursable costs are debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges if damaged, water-control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities and parks and recreation.

The city will also seek expenses related to use of the downtown convention center as a shelter for about three weeks.

&#8221Each entity is given a plan of action called a project worksheet. From there, the expenditure is approved or not approved,“ FEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany said.

Public assistance coordinators with FEMA have been assigned to city and county officials to advise them with eligibility, pulling documents from city departments and to brief them daily on other regulations.

&#8221We have contact with him daily, so we’re still shooting to get the documentation submitted under the 60 days,“ Weaver said.

As for the county, each department head is keeping a running total of the expenditures and will simply combine them into a form to be submitted at the deadline.

Emergency Management Director L.W. Callaway and County Administrator John Smith met with FEMA officials to discuss the county’s eligibility for public assistance, on Sept. 16 in Jackson.

&#8221Given the amount of debris here, which obviously wasn’t as much as counties on the coast, I wouldn’t expect an extension of the deadline,“ Callaway said.

No county official has met with a FEMA coordinator since then, Callaway said.

Each year, the maximum reimbursement to government entities for disaster relief is adjusted upward with the Consumer Price Index and has no cap on the amount.

Hurricane Rita was not covered by a federal declaration here.