03/11/09 07:24 AM
By Matthew Spina, News Staff Reporter

Erie County has been waiting for months for its final multimillion- dollar reimbursement for the October 2006 storm.

Attempts to collect from the State Emergency Management Office have not succeeded, and some county lawmakers are complaining publicly.

A spokesman for the Emergency Management Office said Erie County has to provide more information before the final payment can flow.

“Until we get all the documentation, we cannot process further payment,” said Dennis Michalski, who added that Erie County could be owed as much as $11.4 million.

Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz recently appealed to John Gibb, director of the Emergency Management Office, when Gibb was in Erie County after the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 on Feb. 12.

Poloncarz followed up with a letter, saying the county needs the cash.

County Legislature Republicans, meanwhile, called a news conference Tuesday to say Erie County needs the money that it spent while expecting reimbursement.

The Republicans put the amount at “more than $7 million.” Poloncarz’s office said it’s $9.4 million. And Michalski said it tops $11 million.

“The taxpayers of Erie County have suffered long enough,” said Legislator John J. Mills of Orchard Park, leader of the Legislature’s three-member Republican caucus. “Every day that we do not receive these funds is another day that we cannot address urgent safety concerns, such as rebuilding our roads and bridges.”

The Republicans will ask the full Legislature, which meets at 2 p. m. Thursday, to approve a statement calling on the state to release the money.

Erie County had a two-year “declaration of emergency” period in which it could bill the state and federal governments for recovery work.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing 75 percent of the money and has so far sent tens of millions of dollars to Erie County and to municipalities that dealt with thousands of downed trees and other damage inflicted by the storm.

The state is to cover 25 percent, and also has sent millions of dollars to Erie County. Michalski said the state provided $25 million in “immediate needs funding” soon after the storm.