Doyle wants more federal flood aid
Gov. Jim Doyle made a formal request for more aid from the federal government to deal with June's flooding in Wisconsin, citing unmet needs for housing, business and infrastructure repairs at more than $1.2 billion.
Doyle sent a letter Wednesday to Secretary Steve Preston of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), asking for more Community Development Block Grant money from HUD to help rebuild and restore housing, small businesses and infrastructure affected in the floods that struck in June.
Doyle didn't attach a dollar amount to the request, just that the state needs much more help than the $5 million allocated already.
"Without this (new) funding Wisconsin's citizens and communities will struggle to recover and restore the viability of the impacted communities," Doyle said in his letter to Preston.
A summary of the damages caused by the flooding estimates Wisconsin incurred $1.22 billion in CDBG-eligible but unmet needs, including $923 million in unmet housing needs, $255 million in unmet business needs and $40 million in unmet infrastructure needs.
HUD initially allocated $100 million for flood relief earlier this year, with $5 million of that earmarked for Wisconsin's needs. HUD is also planning on allocating another $200 million to Midwestern states for flood relief.
Doyle said the widespread nature of damages in rural areas made many of the residents and business owners eligible for aid because they met HUD's criteria for low and moderate income.
Doyle pointed out that 58.8 percent of the people living in Gays Mills and 59.4 percent of those in Avoca met the criteria.
"Neither the villages or their residents have the funds available to meet their needs," Doyle wrote. "There are literally dozens of other Wisconsin communities in similar situations."
Thirty-one counties were included in the disaster area declared after the flooding.
Doyle said the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration were active in helping victims in those counties apply for aid, but less than 50 percent of the more than 40,000 victims had received financial assistance from FEMA or the SBA.
Doyle said the $5 million in aid is "greatly outpaced" by the over $1 billion need, and Wisconsin needs a measurable slice of the $200 million yet to come.
"I encourage your consideration of the challenges faced by the people of Wisconsin as you allocate the remaining $200 million in CDBG funding," Doyle said in his letter.
File photo
More than half of the residents of Gays Mills, seen covered in flood waters in early June, meet federal criteria for aid, Gov. Doyle says.
