Mayors say without aid now, cities will permanently lose people, firms
By Dave Olson
The Forum
The mayors of Breckenridge, Minn., and East Grand Forks, Minn., said Thursday they need help from the federal government and they need it now.

If they don’t get it, they say their cities may permanently lose people and businesses.

Breckenridge Mayor Kal Michels and East Grand Forks Mayor Lynn Stauss spoke via phone conference Thursday with Sen. Paul Wellstone and Rep. Collin Peterson, both Minnesota Democrats.

The lawmakers arranged the call to keep the communities apprised of legislation containing money for disaster relief that is working its way through Congress.

Peterson said the House Appropriations Committee Thursday added $200 million to its Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, which already contained $500 million.

Peterson and Wellstone said it was a step in the right direction, but both said much more money is required and the money has to be appropriated in a way that will get it to the people.

"We need more flexibility to get this money to the individuals, not to agencies," Peterson said.

As it traditionally does, Peterson said, the House committee put specific controls on where the money would go, such as $80 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $50 million for watershed flood prevention and $40 million for flood control and coastal emergencies. "That is not going to do anything to get money to people," Peterson said.

The Minnesota lawmakers said that as the bill makes its way to the House-Senate conference committee, they will work to have the relief funds lumped into community block grants, which would allow greater freedom in dispensing the money.

"There’s no way that senior citizens, young families with children, are going to be able to re-establish themselves just with what FEMA has available," Peterson said, referring to FEMA’s cap of $13,200 for grants to individuals. "The country has got to step forward and help these people.

Michels said he understood that the funding process takes time. But, he added, "the individuals who are in need today, the businesses who are in need today, are somewhat impatient.

"These people don’t need loans. "They need assistance in the form of grants."

Michels said he spoke with a car dealer in town who said he will go under financially if he doesn’t have money coming in soon. "He can’t afford another 30-year loan," Michels said. "He needs cash and he needs cash now."

Michels also said there are landlords in Breckenridge who may walk away from their properties because there is no federal assistance available to them.

He said when federal officials visited Breckenridge promises were made and the people were told that the "unprecedented event would bring unprecedented help. (The people) interpreted that to mean they are going to get some help."

"We need to get the money to the people," agreed Stauss.

"We’ve got businesses that are going to have to close if they don’t get assistance and get it quick," he added. "What’s going to happen to us if we don’t get this is ... we’re going to lose population from the community. We’re going to lose businesses and it will just be very devastating."

The House bill also includes a provision that would allow flood insurance policies to be valid if they were purchased 15 days prior to flooding. The previous rule required that insurance be purchased at least 30 days prior to flooding.