A local agency shall make application to the director for state financial assistance within 60 days after the date of the proclamation of a local emergency. The director may extend the time for this filing only under unusual circumstances. No financial aid shall be provided until a state agency, upon the request of the director, has first investigated and reported upon the proposed work, has estimated the cost of the work, and has filed its report with the director within 60 days from the date the local agency made application, unless the director extends the time because of unusual circumstances. The estimate of cost of the work may include expenditures made by the local agency for the work prior to the making of the estimate. If the reporting state agency fails to
report its findings within the 60-day period, and time is not extended by the director, the director may complete the investigation and recover a proportionate amount allocated to the state agency for the balance of the investigation. “Unusual circumstances,” as used above, are unavoidable delays that result from recurrence of a disaster, prolonged severe weather within a one-year period, or other conditions beyond the control of the applicant. Delays resulting from administrative procedures are not unusual circumstances which warrant extensions of time.