The Blizzard of February 23, 2026 hit Barnstable and Plymouth Counties harder than anywhere else in Massachusetts — 155,000+ outages on Cape Cod, 30–36 inches inland. The FEMA documentation window is open right now.
See the damage data →Serving New England Municipalities
Recovery Group
We help New England's public works departments recover every dollar they're owed — through expert FEMA reimbursement documentation and strategic grant acquisition. Based in Wareham. Built for the Cape and the South Shore.
February 23, 2026
Hurricane-force winds. 80%+ of Cape Cod without power. Thirty-six inches of snow in Kingston and Lakeville. The National Guard deployed in Duxbury and Pembroke. This was a historic storm — and the FEMA Public Assistance reimbursement process is open right now for every town that documents its costs. The 90-day filing window runs from the declaration date, not the storm. Every week of delay is documentation quality lost.
National Guard deployed in Duxbury and Pembroke. Thundersnow recorded in Plymouth. Travel ban issued.
Heaviest snowfall — severe impacts
Other significantly impacted towns
Towns with complete records — signed labor logs, equipment sheets, pre-storm condition photos — recover 85–95% of eligible costs. Towns with gaps recover 40–60%. The storm was the same for everyone. The documentation wasn't.
Category A: debris removal. Category B: DPW and fire overtime during the storm — often the largest single cost. Category C: road and culvert damage. Category E: public building damage. Most towns only capture Category C. The rest walks out the door.
FEMA's Request for Public Assistance window opens at the federal declaration date. Miss it and the reimbursement is permanently gone — no extension, no appeal. Every town needs documentation ready to file the day the declaration is announced.
Massachusetts state disaster funds may be available for documented costs even if a federal declaration isn't issued. Documentation protects your town either way. The cost of not documenting is always higher than the cost of documenting unnecessarily.
The Problem
After every nor'easter, flood event, and ice storm, your department spends exhausting hours responding to the emergency. When it's over, the last thing your team has capacity for is the mountain of FEMA paperwork standing between you and full reimbursement.
Most municipalities recover only a fraction of what they're entitled to — not because they don't qualify, but because documentation is incomplete, deadlines are missed, and the process is genuinely complex.
That's exactly the gap we exist to close.
FEMA requires precise labor logs, equipment hours, and material costs. Most departments track these inconsistently during emergency response — and each gap directly reduces eligible reimbursement.
The RPA window opens at declaration, not the storm. Towns that aren't ready to file immediately lose money they've already spent responding.
Public works teams are built for infrastructure — not grant administration. The expertise gap costs real money every single storm season.
Beyond FEMA, dozens of federal and state programs go unpursued simply because no one has time to track deadlines and write competitive applications.
What We Do
When a storm hits, we mobilize — building the documentation record that maximizes your FEMA Public Assistance reimbursement from day one through final closeout.
The best FEMA claims start before the storm. We assess your documentation posture and build the systems that dramatically improve recovery outcomes before the next event.
Between storm events, we identify and pursue every grant your department qualifies for — MassWorks, CDBG, BRIC, USDA Rural Development, and more.
The documentation window is open right now. A 30-minute conversation costs nothing. Waiting costs real money.
Why NEMRG
Matthew Perry and the NEMR Group are based in Wareham — right in the heart of the communities we serve. We know these roads, these DPW Directors, and these storm patterns personally.
We're active in the APWA New England Chapter and the Barnstable and Plymouth County DPW communities. These are our professional neighbors — not a sales territory.
Our principal spent years working alongside public works professionals across New England — building the genuine relationships with DPW Directors and Town Administrators that make this work possible.
FEMA recovery work is contingency-based. We earn more when you recover more. The Readiness Audit is flat-fee. No retainers until you're an ongoing client.
Nor'easters, coastal flooding, ice dams, spring runoff — we understand the specific damage categories Cape Cod and South Shore towns face and the FEMA programs designed to address each one.
You won't be handed off. Matthew Perry works every engagement directly. Small enough to care deeply, experienced enough to deliver.
How It Works
We start by understanding your town's storm history, current documentation posture, and where you stand today. No obligation — just a real conversation.
We identify unclaimed FEMA reimbursements, missed grant opportunities, and documentation gaps specific to your municipality and storm event.
We go to work — site visits, documentation, Project Worksheets, MEMA submissions, grant applications. Your team focuses on infrastructure. We focus on recovery.
Funds recovered, grants awarded, and a stronger documentation foundation that makes every future storm significantly more recoverable.
Active memberships & community relationships
American Public Works Association
Cape Cod municipal network
South Shore municipal network
Statewide transportation community
Get In Touch
Whether you just lived through the February 2026 storm, have a grant deadline approaching, or want to understand what you may have left unclaimed — start with a conversation. No commitment, no pitch. Just a direct talk about your situation.
Wareham, Massachusetts — serving all of New England
508-260-3187
Available 24/7 during active storm events