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Western Wisconsin Officials Thankful For State Aid, Still Unsure How They’ll Cover Costs

Walker Declares State Of Emergency For Buffalo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire Counties

By
Martin Katerberg (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Even with a promise of state disaster assistance, town officials in Buffalo and Trempealeau counties are wondering how they’ll pay for road damage from heavy flooding in early August.

Between 4 and 8 inches of rain fell on Buffalo and Trempealeau Counties within a 45 minute span the morning of Aug. 11, causing small creeks to jump their banks and ravage roads and homes.

Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency for Buffalo, Trempealeau and Eau Claire counties Monday, paving the way for state reimbursement of up to 75 percent of road repairs. But Gilmanton Board Chair Marvin Meier isn’t sure how they’ll pay to fix more than $170,000 in road damages in the first place.

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“The rub sort of comes because we have to repair the roads and pay for the repairs up front then submit it to the state to get our 75 percent back,” Meier said. “And I don’t understand how we’re going to pay for it in full in advance of getting the reimbursement.”

Meier said officials are still working on finding what the flood damage total is for the town.

“I guess the only alternative is we’re going to have to make a loan,” he said. “We’re going to have to borrow some money and we don’t know how much we’re going to have to borrow.”

The disaster declaration doesn’t help homeowners, though Buffalo County is considering applying for a state block grant to help private homeowners with repair costs.