Counties begin process of collecting Sandy relief funds

Dauphin County officials have reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs from Tropical Storm Sandy. While it's been a few months since the storm hit our area; today FEMA met with local government entities and non-profits to begin the process of reimbursing those funds.

Earlier this month President Obama issued a Declaration of Public Assistance for Dauphin and other nearby counties. That means aid will be provided based on categories including

• Debris removal
• Emergency protective measures
• Infrastructure – water-buildings-utilities
• Parks and recreation

Dauphin County fit all of them.

Dauphin County entities recieved the public assistance aid because they had more than $900,000 in damage to these entities across the country.

At a meeting this afternoon representatives from area municipalities and non-profits began the application process to receive the aid, including Lower Paxton Police.

"We are here today to work with PEMA/FEMA to make application for financial recovery," said Lower Paxton Township Officer Ralph Palm.

After today's meeting the applicants will work with FEMA to figure out how much federal financial aid they'll receive.

The aid is not available for Dauphin County residents, it is only for these entities.