BARNET, Vt. (WCAX) – Sen. Peter Welch says the way FEMA doles out money in the wake of disasters, like last week’s flooding, needs to change. He made the comments while touring hard-hit communities in the Northeast Kingdom, like Barnet.
As cities and towns across Vermont continue to clean up from last week’s flooding, a critical question remains: Who will pay for all the damage?
“This was our dream to be here. We love it here, it’s a great community. And yeah, I just hope we can stay,” Heather Lindstrom said.
Lindstrom moved to Barnet four years ago but now she faces an uncertain future. Her home and car were seriously damaged by flooding. She has reported the damage to Vermont’s 211 helpline, but another call left her dismayed.
“I started with my homeowners insurance which of course denied the claim outright,” she said.
Lindstrom says while her finances are up in the air, she is rich in support from her neighbors.
“This community has been fantastic,” she said. “I’ve had so many volunteers come and support me in that work.”
The town of Barnet also faces a hefty price tag. A gaping hole in the center of the community is just one spot that needs repairs.
“We just don’t have the big pool of money to fix everything at once,” said Dylan Ford, the co-chair of the Barnet Selectboard.
Town officials say they will be exploring state and federal assistance to pay the bills, but they also say that in the past, FEMA has been very slow on the turnaround.
“We have waited years for that before,” Ford said. “We have a set budget. We are very careful in a small town about using what we have.”
Sen. Peter Welch toured the damage on Tuesday. He says FEMA’s long-term recovery model needs to change. He says FEMA spent more money in the wake of last year’s flooding on administrative costs than direct aid to those in need.
“You know that is because it’s a top-down deal from Washington, so that’s why I think we’ve got to reverse that,” said Welch, D-Vermont.
The senator says it should be the locals who decide where and how the federal dollars are spent.
“They’ve got a water system that has to be repaired. They’ve got a bridge that’s out. And FEMA sends someone from Washington, that person is here for two or three months, and then that person goes on,” he said.
Welch also had scheduled tours in Lyndonville and Peacham, two towns not only dealing with damage but also the deadly reality of the storm.