After state lawmakers approved an $18.3 billion bipartisan state budget Thursday that includes $5 million for recovery efforts in Globe-Miami and $5 million for Gila County following last fall’s floods, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the budget bill Saturday afternoon.
The funding package allocates $5 million to Gila County and $2.5 million each to the City of Globe and the Town of Miami. According to the budget bill, the funds must be distributed by July 15.
“It’s great to finally get a little daylight at the end of the tunnel,” said Gila County Supervisor Tim Humphrey regarding the news.
The funding comes months after HB 2070, a bill introduced by Rep. Walt Blackman in January that would have provided $25 million to Gila County for flood recovery, died in the appropriations committee.
In Globe and Miami, the state funding could help cover required matching funds for federal flood mitigation projects through the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Miami Mayor Gil Madrid said the town’s $2.5 million allocation will likely be used toward Miami’s 25% match requirement for its NRCS-funded flood mitigation work.
The amount is roughly equivalent to the town’s annual budget, Madrid said.
“It’s just the beginning of the money that we need,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
Globe Mayor Al Gameros said he anticipates that the city’s $2.5 million will be used toward Globe’s share of the local match for NRCS projects. The city has been searching for ways to fund its approximately $5.5 milion obligation.
“This is huge for us,” he said of the state’s $2.5 million designation, and that the city was grateful to those who saw the community’s needs and worked to secure the funds.
He said Globe is still hoping to receive a federal disaster designation that would reduce the city’s local match requirement from 25% to 10%, bringing the city’s cost down to the roughly $2.1 million range.
Meanwhile, Humphrey said that the decision of how the county’s $5 million allocation will be used will have to go before the board, but he said he expects the money will be used to repay a portion of the debt the county incurred to begin flood mitigation work.
Rep. Sylvia Allen, who was appointed to represent District 7 in April following the resignation of Rep. Dave Marshall, applauded the funding in a Facebook post.
Allen said she and Rep. Walter Blackman had urged legislative leaders to provide assistance to Gila County communities after last year’s flooding.
“An appropriation of $10 million is not enough, but it is a start to help them with the many cleanup and flood remediation projects that are needed,” she said.
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