Politics & Government

Long Branch, Eatontown Looking For FEMA Money To Help Cover Hurricane Costs

Both towns have made emergency appropriations for costs incurred during storm

 

After making emergency appropriations to deal with the costs associated with Hurricane Sandy this week, Long Branch and Eatontown officials are saying they are looking to FEMA to reimburse their towns.

Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said he is optimistic that FEMA will be able to pay for most of the costs incurred by the city.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"News from FEMA indicated that we will be reimbursed on a 90/10 basis," Mayor Schneider said. "That means that the federal government hopefully will be picking up 90 percent of the storm-related bills."

"Early estimates suggest that preliminary numbers based on past experiences; even if we are only responsible for 10 percent of the cost, the city will be in for millions," Mayor Schneider continued.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At a special meeting Wednesday night, the city began to address the issue by making a $2 million emergency appropriation to deal with costs associated with Hurricane Sandy. $1.4 million was tabbed for Hurricane Sandy cleanup costs, and the other was set aside for hurricane-related salaries and wages.

The Eatontown Council also made an emergency appropriation of $68,900 for Hurricane Sandy-releated expenses during its meeting on Thursday night.

Eatontown Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Mego said he has met with FEMA representatives  and is also hopeful that will be able to help pay some of the costs associated with the hurricane.

Mego said borough departments have been asked to keep a record of their costs from the hurricane and that his department is "still managing the incident."

Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said the borough will make good use of any money it receives from FEMA.

"However we can utilize FEMA money to the advantage of our residents, we will take that initiative," Mayor Tarantolo said.


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