City officials will meet with New Albany residents affected by the Aug. 4 flood Wednesday to discuss the possibility of tax dollars being allocated toward repair costs.
City Council President Dan Coffey, Councilman Jeff Gahan and Mayor Doug England are expected to attend the informational meeting, set for 6 p.m. in the Strassweg Auditorium of the New Albany-Floyd County Public Library, 180 W. Spring St.
“It’s just for New Albany residents. It can’t be for Floyd County or the people that live in the fringe area,” Coffey said.
Last week, Shane Gibson, city attorney, said the administration would ask the council to approve using discretionary funds to help storm victims. Economic Development Income Tax, or EDIT, money would be the likely choice for the appropriation, which would require yes votes from five of the nine council members to implement.
England said Monday he’s in favor of helping residents out, as Floyd County was denied federal assistance relating to the flood, and the city’s insurance provider also turned down about 25 tort claims.
“At least we need to explore it and find out what’s there and what’s not there,” England said. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do, but I’m hoping there is.”
The council voted in November to use EDIT funds to balance its 2008 and 2009 budgets, but there is still expected to be more than $4 million available in 2010.
Coffey and England said the amount of the appropriation they plan on asking the council for has not been determined. England said he’s working on a figure with Gibson based mainly on the amount requested in the tort claims.
Coffey said Gahan has pushed for city aid for storm victims since the August storm. Coffey added he joined Gahan in the effort because his constituency in District 1, and Gahan’s District 6, were the areas that received the most damage from the flood.
“This is not something we can do every time,” Coffey said.
In fact, it would be the first time the city has voluntarily paid residents for disaster-related damages, Coffey said.
If passed, there would have to be a limit as to how much residents can ask for, Coffey said. Residents that experienced severe damage would be the focus of the aid, he added.
Also Monday, Indiana Rep. Baron Hill introduced his disaster declaration reform legislation in Clarksville and said he will push to have the bill implemented retroactively, which could mean federal funding for Clark and Floyd counties despite the state being denied twice by President Barack Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
England said if that happens, the city could be reimbursed if it agrees to help residents with discretionary funds in the meantime. Either way, England is optimistic city leaders can do something for flood victims that have been denied at basically every level since Aug. 4.
“I feel it’s the right thing to do. I’m very supportive of it — hopefully the rest of the council is too,” he said.
Floyd County (The Tribune)
New Albany meeting set for discussion over city aid for flood victims
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