'We were hit hard': Communities scramble for funding after FEMA denies flood relief appeal
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- This week marks six months since historic flooding swept through Southeast Wisconsin back in August.
Earlier this week, FEMA denied Wisconsin's appeal for flood relief, and now communities are left scrambling to find additional funds.
The City of West Allis is feeling the financial burden.
Mayor Dan Devine says FEMA needs to reevaluate how they respond to disasters.
"FEMA is supposed to respond to communities or help communities rebound from disasters like we had. It sounds like they went by the book, but I think the book needs to be looked at," said Mayor Devine.
In August, flooding filled basements, washed away cars and shut down businesses.
"We were hit hard. I know the public sector for the city it was about $800,000," said Mayor Devine.
FEMA's spokesperson sent us the following statement in response to Wisconsin's appeal denial:
“Just like all declaration requests, FEMA follows the Stafford Act and its regulations to support the determination process on whether federal assistance is warranted to supplement state, local, tribal, or territorial efforts and capabilities. FEMA worked closely with the state of Wisconsin to collect and analyze damage information. The law and regulations require FEMA to review each request closely and consider the unique circumstances of disaster-caused damages as well as state and local capacity. This decision just like all disaster requests was based on policy not politics.
FEMA remains focused on empowering states to take the lead on their community response and recovery activities and is dedicated to providing support when federal assistance is warranted.”
"It was frustrating, I guess I held onto a little hope we would get a little more," said Mayor Devine.
FEMA reimbursed private property owners, but the city is still feeling the pinch.
"We had all hands on deck, we had overtime, we had to buy over $220,000 in equipment to remove the debris that people were throwing out on the curb," Mayor Devine explained.
While there's an emergency fund communities can tap into, Devine says it wouldn't be fair for residents.
"If we use that, it would be asking the taxpayers for more money," said Mayor Devine.
To help, Milwaukee County's Office of Emergency Management is collecting data to pursue funding from the Wisconsin Disaster Fund.
"I don't think that's as robust of a program as FEMA is, but it's there; they're looking at gathering that data now," said Mayor Devine.
Devine says that money would go toward projects that were postponed because of the flooding.