MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Almost nine months after Hurricane Helene, there’s still work to do to rebuild Madeira Beach.
“There’s still a lot of projects to be completed. A lot of homes that are not completed — being rebuilt,” said Mayor Anne-Marie Brooks. “Virtually every home in the city was flooded.”
In the storm’s aftermath, it wasn’t just homeowners who looked to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for help. The city government did too.
“Our parks were destroyed,” Brooks said. “FEMA allows us to submit for reimbursement for the parks. The debris — $6 million minimum for debris removal. FEMA will reimburse that.”
WATCH: Coastal mayors have concerns and questions about how FED will sunset FEMA
So now, the Brooks is somewhat worried after President Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement to phase out FEMA after the current hurricane season.
“If a certain state, as an example, gets hit by a hurricane or tornado, that’s what a governor, you know, a governor should be able to handle it,” the president said.
He said a new process, which will be devised at a later date, will be used to send money to states directly after disasters. However, there’s a potential less money will be sent.
“There’s a part of sunsetting FEMA that I think is fantastic,” said Brooks.
Mayor Brooks said she’s no fan of FEMA and what she describes as its burdensome rules and bureaucratic red tape.
However, if the agency is eliminated, she said it’s still imperative for the federal government to send sufficient relief to cities like hers.
“That’s huge, because without the federal government giving that assistance, that repair cost would be on the homeowners in the form of taxes,” she said.
Federal funding from FEMA has also been crucial in the City of Largo in the wake of Hurricane Milton, which caused flooding and damage in the city.
“You know, we spent — the city spent — millions and millions of dollars just on debris removal,” Brown said.
The mayor expects that much of the expense of debris removal will be reimbursed by FEMA, along with much of the overtime paid to key city workers like first responders and public works employees.
That’s why he, too, is a bit concerned and has plenty of questions about how cities like his will be helped if FEMA is eliminated
“The money has to come from somewhere,” he said. “The states don’t have it. We certainly don’t have it.”
Both Brown and Brooks hope the federal government will release more details — and more concrete plans — in future months about how FEMA will be sunsetted.
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