LANSING — Six months after the disaster, Northern Michigan lawmakers have secured millions of dollars in the state budget for ice storm recovery.
Lawmakers passed their final budget proposal late last week, including more than $14 million for the region’s recovery.
While officials say they’re happy to see the funding, they also say that they hope the aid will open the door to more support in the future.
“The bottom line is, with the ice storm, we want more — there’s no question we need more for that,” said Sen. John Damoose, (R) District 37, Harbor Springs. “But at least $14 million is a good start, and I was glad to see all parties come together and at least agree upon that funding there.”
Of that, $10 million would be used to match $50 million in FEMA Public Assistance funds that were approved over the summer.
Two million dollars would also go to reforestation, while $2.2 million would go to fire prevention across the region.
“We’ve got all these trees and tree debris all over the forest floor, and next year, that’s going to look like a lot of fire, a lot of fuel for fire,” said Rep. Parker Fairbairn, (R) District 107, Harbor Springs. “So we want to make sure we mitigate that as best as possible.”
Close to 400 trail miles out of 3,200 in the impacted counties are still closed due to the March storm.
The budget still needs to be approved by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has the power to veto individual spending items — but Damoose says she was involved with the ask and is supportive of it.
Area lawmakers say they’re grateful for the inclusion, but more help is needed for the region to fully recover.
The request is different from an aid plan which passed the state House earlier this year. That proposal would put up $100 million, mostly for homeowners impacted by the storm.
“What you saw here was thousands and tens of thousands, in some cases, of dollars that people were having to spend to clean up their properties — and not just clean up their properties, but fix their garages, their homes,” Fairbairn said.
Public Assistance funding — which, right now, is the only form of aid that’s been approved — can only go to local governments and some nonprofits that helped with disaster response.
“My top concern is individual assistance, because I know so many people in our district who had to pay a ton of money for cleanup, and they aren’t getting a dime of help,” Damoose said.
The state’s Individual Assistance request to FEMA was denied earlier this year, and authorities are in the process of appealing the decision.
The $100 million proposal still hasn’t seen any action in the Senate.
Damoose and Fairbairn say they’ll continue pushing for its passage through the chamber, but it’s up to Senate Democrats to put the bill to a vote.
“We had a natural disaster in Northern Michigan, and we’re not getting the help we needed — so we’re hopeful in the next few months that there will be movement on that bill,” Fairbairn said.