On Feb. 4, leaders from Gila County, Globe and Miami traveled to the Arizona Capitol to testify about the severity of last fall’s flooding and to support House Bill 2070.
Introduced in January by Rep. Walt Blackman of District 7, the bill proposed allocating $25 million from Arizona’s general fund to Gila County for flood relief efforts.
Later that same day, the bill passed unanimously through the House Government Committee on a 7–0 vote, encouraging the county’s local leaders.
A month later, however, HB 2070 is effectively dead.
After leaving the House Government Committee, the bill was assigned to the Appropriations Committee, where it was never scheduled for a hearing. In the Arizona Legislature, when a committee chairman does not place a bill on the agenda, the measure effectively dies.
Why the bill was never heard remains unclear. Rep. Walt Blackman did not respond to requests for comment.
“You never know about the politics in the legislature and why things happen and what the plan is,” said Gila County Supervisor Tim Humphrey.
The bill was considered an emergency measure after the historic flooding that took place throughout Gila County in September.
If approved, the $25 million in funding could have been used for a range of flood-related county costs, including flood prevention equipment, mitigation projects, emergency repairs, engineering and design work, permitting and project management. The funds could also have been used for matching state or federal grants, reimbursing agencies for eligible claims, or supporting economic development infrastructure in flood-impacted areas.
Even though HB 2070 failed to advance, county officials say state funding for flood recovery is still possible through another avenue.
Gila County Manager James Menlove pointed out that Gov. Katie Hobbs has proposed allocating $20 million for flood relief in her budget. Coming from the governor’s budget, Menlove said it would be controlled through the state’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, and that the $20 million would be allocated over a five-year period.
“[We’re] very encouraged that they still have an avenue, still have a method to get some money to Globe-Miami,” he said.
Humphrey said that he and county engineers met with DEMA at the beginning of March and showed them projects along Ice House and Six Shooter that urgently need to be addressed.
Meanwhile, the status of potential federal assistance remains uncertain.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied Arizona’s request for a major disaster declaration in December. The request is in the appeal process and has bipartisan support from Arizona’s lawmakers.
Menlove said FEMA officials were scheduled to meet with the county and local governments in Globe and Miami several weeks ago, but the trip was canceled amid the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
“So we are still not certain if we're going to get any support from the federal government,” Menlove said.
Humphrey said the delays have made it difficult to move forward with certain projects.
“We're not hearing back on some of those projects, if they were approved or or can't be approved,” he said. “It's difficult because once they're approved, we have 220 days to get them completed.”
Globe Mayor Al Gameros plans to travel to Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks to participate in discussions focused on flood mitigation relief and FEMA funding on behalf of the city.
Gameros said rural cities like Globe aren’t equipped to handle the cost of large-scale recovery projects on their own.
“We need [funding] up front,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding state and federal aid, some funding sources have already been approved.
Gila County, along with Globe and Miami, has received approval for funding through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with the county approved for $22 million and the City of Globe approved for $24 million. (See "Miami gets $6.5 million for flood mitigation" for more information about Miami’s NRCS award.)
County leaders are also exploring additional options to cover immediate project costs.
The Gila County Board of Supervisors just held a public hearing to consider $18 million in debt financing to help cover the costs of flood recovery efforts. (See related story "County proceeds with $18 million flood recovery bond" to learn more.)
“If we have to borrow the money, then that's what we have to do to pay some of our expenses,” Humphrey said. “If the state or federal funding comes through at some point in time, then we can pay those loans off at any time.”
“This is something that is going to take, it could take easily a decade for us to get all the money that we hope we can get out of this,” Menlove said. “So it's a long-term project.”
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