Wauwatosa, like many southeastern Wisconsin communities hit hard by flooding in August, had hoped to receive federal funding to offset some of the cost of millions of dollars in repairs needed to city-owned public infrastructure, particularly at Tosa's central Hart Park.
In September, the Trump administration cleared individual homeowners in Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties to receive flood relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. But last month, Wisconsin received the disappointing news that its request for federal aid for local governments had been denied.
FEMA gave little explanation for the denial, in its Oct. 23 letter to Gov. Tony Evers.
"Based on the results of the joint federal, state, and local government Preliminary Damage Assessments, it has been determined that the Public Assistance program under FEMA-4892-DR is not warranted," the letter said. "Therefore, your request for the Public Assistance Assistance program is denied."
That left much-anticipated repair work in Wauwatosa up in the air. State and local officials have turned to the FEMA appeal process while discussing back-up plans for paying for repairs to roads, recreational facilities and other public infrastructure damaged by the widespread flooding.
Wauwatosa officials initially estimated the flooding had caused as much as $9 million in damage to city-owned property, especially Hart Park's football stadium and playground and the Muellner Building, which houses the Hart Park Senior Center. After further inspections, insurance reimbursements and a generous $1 million donation, city officials now estimate that Tosa's unreimbursed cost of those repairs still could rise as high as $2 million.
The city may find further savings as finalizes its repair plans. For example, an inspection report is due this week on the Hart Park football stadium's playing surface, and if the damage there isn't as extensive as originally feared, it could save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"We don't want to get our hopes up before all our data comes in," Wauwatosa Public Works Director David Simpson said at a Nov. 4 meeting of the Common Council's Finance Committee.
City leaders would have a limited number of options for how to pay the cost of unreimbursed repairs, and almost all of the options involve direct or indirect taxpayer support. Here is a summary of five possibilities looking ahead.
Wisconsin might prevail in its FEMA appeal
Federal law gives the state 30 days to appeal FEMA's denial of federal aid for public infrastructure damage, and Evers has affirmed Wisconsin is appealing the decision.
"We are going to fight tooth and nail to ensure they get every possible resource to rebuild and recover," Evers said in a written statement. "We are hopeful that the Trump Administration will reconsider this decision, so we can make sure folks have the resources and support they need."
It isn't clear how likely that appeal is to succeed, though it at least holds the door open to possible federal assistance. And because FEMA aid is still a possibility, Wauwatosa leaders will continue to pause some of the city's needed repairs, to ensure those repairs remain eligible for federal reimbursement.
Wisconsin might offer its own disaster aid
If local governments receive no FEMA aid, they may qualify for assistance from a separate pool of disaster relief administered by the state. The Wisconsin Disaster Fund is intended to help those entities "recoup costs incurred while responding to and recovering from disaster incidents."
Again, that option comes with quite a bit of uncertainty, regarding how much of Wauwatosa's anticipated $2 million in costs could be covered by state assistance. Any funding would offset at least some of the cost borne locally.
"My guess is we are still a couple months out from knowning what's available," Wauwatosa Finance Director John Ruggini said Nov. 4 at the Finance Committee meeting.
Tosa could draw money from cash reserves
If Wauwatosa is on the hook for all its unreimbursed costs, it could draw from its cash reserves to cover the $2 million without disrupting the rest of its budget or asking for more money from local taxpayers.
The downside of that option is that the city would have less money in its cash reserves for future emergencies, until it is able to replenish those reserves with new revenue.
Tosa could pursue a one-time tax increase
"Federal funding would have helped. Now it's going to be a property tax increase for the residents of Wauwatosa," Mayor Dennis McBride told WISN-TV last month after learning that FEMA had rejected Wisconsin's request for federal aid.
McBride's statement may have been premature — there is no plan yet to increase Wauwatosa property taxes to pay for flood repairs — though he was citing one option, raising taxes, that is available and may become necessary.
Wisconsin municipalities have state-imposed limits on how much they can raise their tax levies year to year, though there is an exception for increases related to disaster recovery.
When the governor declares an emergency because of a disaster, municipalities with unreimbursed expenses from that disaster can claim those expenses when reporting their compliance with the state's levy limits. This allows them to implement a one-time tax levy increase to cover the cost of those expenses.
Ruggini confirmed to Tosa Forward News that city leaders have the option of raising that money through new taxes, though doing so would be a policy decision that would need to be adopted by the Common Council. The council also could decide to forego a tax increase and draw down the city's cash reserves instead, or it could choose to split the expense between the reserves and a levy increase.
Community donations also could help
Finally, the city could raise some of the money for repairing its damaged facilities from the community, including some of the organizations that use the facilities. Ruggini mentioned this as an option, though it is not yet one that city leaders have actively pursued.
Even so, they already have one significant example to point to. Soon after the flooding, Wauwatosa natives John and Tashia Morgridge gave $1 million through their TOSA Foundation to help with repairs at Hart Park. That donation helped reduced the city's total for unreimbursed expenses. Any additional community donations could further reduce the burden on taxpayers.
