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State gives cities, towns $5.5m for 2008 ice storm

E-mail|Link|Comments () December 10, 2009 10:34 AM

ice storm 2008

(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/File)

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The state announced today it will release $5.5 million to reimburse 165 cities and towns crippled by the devastating ice storm a year ago, one of the most costly natural disasters in the history of Massachusetts.

The state is repaying communities for emergency work, debris clearance, and recovery efforts from the storm Dec. 11-12, 2008 that left more than a million homes and businesses without power and cost tens of millions of dollars, according to Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, who made the announcement today in Fitchburg.

"These communities that were hit hard are literally still recovering from the storm last year," said Murray, adding that the funds will be wired next week as municipalities begin digging into deleted budgets for snow and ice removal. "Having this money on hand obviously helps."

The funds are in addition to the $49.2 million already distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which covers 75 percent of the cost of the disaster. The state has also reserved and additional $500,000 for receipts that are still being tallied for reimbursement, Murray said.

The $5.5 million will go to 165 communities in Berkshire, Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, Worcester, Essex, Bristol, Suffolk, and Middlesex Counties. Additional money could also becoming to cities and towns to defray more expenses from the ice storm.

"We are going to work to see if there are any opportunities if we can help beyond that next year," Murray said.

Nine regional school districts and five municipal light departments were also reimbursed by the state. To see a breakdown of how much money each community received, click here: Storm Reimbursement.xls.