Keep the Cash! We don't need your Federal Money!

In a report last month in the Plain Dealer, Chardon again grabbed some national headlines by refusing to file for federal disaster aid for the March snowstorm that dumped two feet of snow on the town and caused a delay of the Maple Festival. Basically, some of the township trustees just felt that it wasn't an emergency and why take federal money if you don't need it! How rare is that - sometimes I just gotta love the quirkiness of this town! Here's an excerpt from the PD article - I especially like the part where the trustee drove his Buick to the Maple Festival meeting during the storm and figures if he can get there in his LeSabre, it can't be much of an emergency!

"Some people say, 'You should take the money. It's there,' " Trustee Chuck Strazinsky said. "That's the part that's wrong. The money's to help in emergencies, and that's not what we had here. This was a typical snowstorm for us. Nothing more."

Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency included Geauga among 17 Ohio counties eligible for disaster aid for the snow that fell and fell and fell between March 7 and 9. Lake and Ashtabula counties also joined the list; the remaining counties sit in the central or southern areas of the state. The classification allows
communities in those counties to seek reimbursement of up to 75 percent of costs for snow removal and "emergency measures taken to save lives and protect property and public health," according to FEMA. The Geauga County Engineer's Office intends to seek cash, as does the city of Chardon and multiple townships and villages.

Chardon Township Trustee Steve Borowski wanted to join the line at the payout window. At a recent board meeting, he moved to seek the federal money. Officials estimated the township could receive upwards of $10,000 for overtime, salt and other storm-related costs. Strazinsky and Trustee Michael Brown blocked the application by not seconding the motion. Borowski said he understood the sentiment behind the stand. However, he called it a mistake: "If the federal government's willing to help you out, my opinion is you go after the funds. Our job as trustee is to get every penny available."

Strazinsky and Brown called their decision a matter of principle. Brown said that on the Saturday night of that March winter storm, he drove his Buick LeSabre to a Geauga Maple Festival fund-raising event. That's not the sort of journey that's made in the midst of a natural disaster. "This isn't free money. These are tax dollars," Brown said of the FEMA program. "Let's save it for actual emergencies."