Board members met for a special session Tuesday morning to discuss the $471,791 debt.
Henderson County State's Attorney Scott McClintock suggested the board empty two of its three reserve funds to pay the Illinois Emergency Management Agency — which then will reimburse FEMA — as a "good-faith effort" to repay the debt.
By the end of the county's fiscal year Dec. 1, McClintock said it must negotiate a long-term solution for the remaining balance.
The stop-gap agreement, McClintock said, will "at least buy us some time."
"I would suggest we still stay on our elected officials," he said. "Any help they can give us, you know, is help we need. But this does buy us a little bit of time so the health department can continue to operate."
The board unanimously agreed to deplete two emergency reserve funds, totaling about $91,000 and $64,0000, respectively.
Prior to the vote, one board member turned to County Clerk Amanda Rousonelos and asked if anyone was concerned about emptying two of the reserve coffers.
"I don't think we have a choice," Rousonelos said reluctantly.
Earlier this month, Henderson County officials was alerted the county owed FEMA $471,791 due to mismanaging relief funds from the 2008 flood.
Based on a 2011 audit by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the county received $3.7 million in ineligible funds from FEMA. An administrative ruling IEMA filed in July argued "Henderson County did not comply with all applicable federal ... laws and regulations," thus rendering some of the work ineligible for reimbursement.
"It is not the type of work, but the failure to comply with federal laws and regulations, that renders the work ineligible," the document stated.
The audit specifically referenced 23 "small" demolition projects and asbestos testing on 13 properties, in which federal funds were "not expended on eligible work."
Henderson County appealed the ruling in 2013, reducing the debt to $471,791.
FEMA has requested the debt be repaid by next June, nine years after the historic flood. If the money is not repaid, the county faces the loss of several vital agencies, including the health department, sheriff's office and transportation services.
Board Chairman Albert Renken said the county must "move ahead" and secure money beyond the county's funds to repay the debt.
The county will "need to see what our possible changes are of where we can get money from and to go from there, to repay this back to IEMA," Renken said.
Of the high water now on the Mississippi River, Renken said there "might be some concern" with the 19.5-foot crest anticipated next week at Burlington, but "at this time, you've seen what happened here today. We don't have any money."
Jared Smith, communications director for U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, said they are "aware of this situation and are very concerned about it."
"Our office recently heard from Henderson County officials seeking assistance, and we are working with them to try to resolve this longstanding obligation so that the hardworking families of Henderson County aren't adversely affected," Smith said in an email Tuesday.
———
©2016 The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa)
Visit The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa) at www.thehawkeye.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
