Governor Phil Bredesen today announced the state is providing $3.6 million in disaster assistance funding to many Tennessee communities that suffered damages due to thunderstorms, flooding, and high winds and tornadoes in 2003. Under the plan, the state will provide retroactive matching funds to eligible agencies and local governments in 70 counties that were declared federal disaster areas in 2003. These payments will restore a portion ? 6.25 percent ? of the total eligible damages in these counties that were not provided when the previous administration suspended state payments for disasters during a period of budget crisis.
?Responding to a disaster can impose immense financial costs on a community if they are forced to shoulder that burden alone,? said Bredesen. ?It is only proper Tennessee continue to place a priority on assisting those communities and the public agencies that have been hardest hit during a disaster. Now that we have regained control of our state?s budget and restored fiscal discipline, it?s time to restore these funds to the communities that need them.?
DeKalb County will receive $17,167.66 for damages that occurred during the disaster which was declared on May 8, 2003. This figure is the combined total from among the eligible parties in this community.
Governor Bredesen has already restored the state?s policy of paying half of the 25 percent of local matching funds required to receive federal public assistance disaster funding for future emergencies. That announcement was made following the deadly tornadoes in April of this year.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will provide budget oversight for issuance of the funds.
The federal public assistance program provides funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings, public utilities and public recreational facilities.
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