Tuesday, May 20, 2008 --- 12:00 p.m.

Press release from Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk:

County Executive Kathleen Falk said today that Dane County government along with towns, villages, cities, and school districts across the county are eligible for more than $1.4 million in winter disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

At the request of Governor Doyle, FEMA issued a rare winter disaster declaration for Dane and seven other southern Wisconsin counties affected by the major storm that hit February 5th-7th. FEMA teams have spent the past several weeks meeting with local units of government that responded to the storm to determine costs eligible for reimbursement.

Dane County will be reimbursed $171,839 for overtime and other expenses accrued cleaning up from the storm. Over $83,000 of that amount is for the County Department of Public Works, Highway, and Transportation for overtime costs of plow crews. The Dane County Regional Airport will receive nearly $62,000, the Sheriff’s Department $10,000, and nearly $7,800 will go to the Public Safety Communications Center.

“These federal dollars will help cover expenses from a winter that was historic both in terms of amount of snow and clean-up costs,” Falk said. “I appreciate the state and federal government’s recognition of the burden Mother Nature placed on local governments this past winter. Crews across the county put in a lot of long days and nights to help keep our roads clear and communities safe,” Falk added.

The city of Madison will receive the largest reimbursement at nearly $493,000. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is in line for over $58,000. Aid amounts for other towns, villages, cities, and school districts vary.

The Dane County Office of Emergency Management will distribute the disaster aid checks to local units of government as they are received from the federal government.