Northport Declares Emergency In Wake Of Destruction By Claudette

NORTHPORT, AL — Northport suffered extensive damage from heavy rain over the weekend brought by Tropical Storm Claudette, prompting the City Council to declare an emergency and free up funds to tackle immediate needs brought on by the storm.

The Northport City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the emergency declaration, which will allow the city to seek reimbursement from the federal government for expenses it has and will continue to incur.

City Engineer Tera Tubbs pointed out to the Council during its pre-meeting briefing that one part of Northport alone received 9 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Areas like Willowbrook Trailer Park suffered extensive damage to residential and public infrastructure Saturday night into Sunday morning, forcing city crews in all departments to work around the clock.

Another measure approved by the Council that will run in-tandem with the emergency declaration will be the allocation of up to $750,000 from the city's Northport First Funds, which is made up of revenue generated by the city's recently implemented 1 cent sales tax.

City Attorney Ron Davis explained the federal reimbursement for the Northport First Funds would likely be slower, possibly taking months. But once the reimbursement dollars are received, they will be put back into the Northport First fund, all of which will come at no impact to the city's general fund.

"You're to be commended for having this mechanism set up," Davis said. "Even the example of a rainy day fund was used when [the 1 cent sales tax] was passed."

Council President Jeff Hogg agreed, saying the city has maintained a goal of fiscal responsibility with respect to the revenue generated by the city's 1 cent sales tax, and said Northport was fortuitous to have the money on hand to immediately address the destructive events of the weekend

"This is how it's supposed to be done in case something like this did happen," Hogg said. "Federal dollars will come in, they will just come in a little slowly. This is so this does not come out of the general fund and we can continue doing the things we are suppose to do in the city while we wait on this money to come back."

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