Governor Blagojevich announces Ogle County approved for snow assistance

SPRINGFIELD - Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced that the federal government has approved his request for assistance to local governments in Ogle County that were hard-hit by heavy snow in early February.  The federal assistance will help municipal, county, township and other governmental bodies receive reimbursement for 75 percent of their extraordinary expenses related to a heavy snowfall on Feb. 5-6.  The federal government previously approved snow assistance for Boone, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lake, McHenry, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.

"Winter is finally over, but the financial burden from multiple snow storms is still being felt by many local governments," said Gov. Blagojevich.  "We're very happy that the federal government approved my request to provide snow assistance to local governments in Ogle County because it will them recoup some of those expenses."

On Feb. 26, Gov. Blagojevich requested federal snow assistance for counties that experienced a one, two or three-day record or near-record snowfall during the storm that struck Feb. 5-6.  Federal snow assistance enables governmental bodies in approved counties to apply for reimbursement of 75 percent of overtime labor costs for snow removal during a 48-hour period, as well as overtime costs for emergency personnel directly related to the snow removal efforts.

"We will immediately begin working with FEMA to get the process started, so that local governments in Ogle County can receive their reimbursements as quickly as possible," said Andrew Velasquez III, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).  Velasquez said local government organizations will soon receive notification of a briefing where IEMA and FEMA will explain the process and help local officials complete applications for reimbursement.