Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hurricane Florence might be long gone but costs for recovery continue to rise

Between New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington, the price tag for recovery from Florence is steadily climbing.

Crews are still picking up debris left behind from Hurricane Florence, two months after the storm. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy City of Wilmington)
Crews are still picking up debris left behind from Hurricane Florence, two months after the storm. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy City of Wilmington)

WILMINGTON — Hurricane Florence will go down in history as one of the more expensive storms to hit the region with local governments spending money hand over fist in recovery efforts — and the spending isn’t done yet.

Both the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County have spent millions of dollars for debris pickup, environmental management, and repairs to buildings but so far it has not been enough.

The City of Wilmington’s City Council will vote on yet another ordinance providing additional funding to help pay for Florence costs and debris pickup; this time, an additional $2.9 million is being requested. This is in addition to a previous appropriation of $9 million from the general fund and $13 million from the debt service fund — bringing the total requested to about $22 million.

Hopefully, the federal government will reimburse local governments for at least a portion of the costs, but that could take some time.

“FEMA reimburses 75-percent of eligible costs. In conversations with our FEMA representative, we will be able to submit a project worksheet for our contracted debris removal with these final estimated costs by the end of the year and can expect the 75-percent reimbursement to be received quickly thereafter. This reimbursement will be used to pay back the loan from the Debt Service Fund as well as assist with repair expenses ongoing,” according to the upcoming City Council Meeting agenda.

New Hanover County

On October 1, New Hanover County approved approximately $20 million in funding to help pay for damages and debris pickup from the storm — now, an additional $12.2 million is being requested.

“Updated estimates indicate additional funds are required for storm-related debris expenditures related to debris removal for the parks department and for the public. Initial estimates include $200,000 for tree and limb removal at the county parks,” according to county documents.

Initial estimates for the amount of debris needing removal was also extremely underestimated. Instead of the estimated 800,000-cubic-yards of debris, estimates are now closer to 1.7 million-cubic-yards.

As with the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County will seek reimbursement from FEMA and the State of North Carolina.

While more than $30 million is a lot of money, it is possible this is not the last time local governments request additional funding, CFO for New Hanover County Lisa Wurtzbacher said in the request.

The county commissioners will vote on approving the request at its Dec. 3 meeting.


 

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