Jefferson City has received just more than $320,000 in federal reimbursements following natural disasters in 2019, with more anticipated.
The Jefferson City Council Finance Committee was updated on reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency by city Finance Director Margie Mueller during a Thursday meeting.
FEMA reimbursements are for 75 percent of the approximate project cost.
To date, the city has received $320,108 in reimbursements for expenses caused by the tornado and flooding that occurred in 2019. In total, the city is estimating $1,536,719 in reimbursements.
The funds reimbursed so far have been primarily within the city's airport and wastewater funds, with most general fund projects still awaiting reimbursement.
Three projects within the airport fund have been reimbursed, totaling $104,126 - the terminal, control tower and fence at the airport.
Two other airport projects - replacing some smaller buildings on site that were damaged by the flood - were not eligible for FEMA reimbursement because the city received enough insurance to cover the cost.
Wastewater fund projects have been reimbursed for a total of $205,849, including new equipment at the wastewater plant.
So far, only one general fund project has been reimbursed. The repair and replacement of some city vehicles was reimbursed for $10,134.
Two larger amounts within the general fund have yet to be finalized.
A total of $887,171 to remove and dispose of debris would be reimbursed between the general fund and the parks fund. Another $198,825 could be reimbursed to the general fund for emergency protective measures.
A project to repair the wall and fence at Missouri State Penitentiary, for reimbursement of $112,759, is also awaiting approval.
One project that was submitted for reimbursement was rejected, but the city is working to appeal the decision.
A sewer stabilization project on the riverbank, originally with a price tag of almost $2 million, was negotiated down to a project cost of $51,503 through some adjustments to the project, but it was ultimately rejected by FEMA in July.
Mueller said the city has been working with the State Emergency Management Agency to appeal the decision. FEMA sent a letter confirming it had received the appeal in early October.
Mueller also updated the committee on the status of the city's CARES Act requests through the Cole County Commission.
Cole County was awarded a little more than $9 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding, to be divided between the county's needs, area schools, municipalities and other entities.
The County Commission has designated about $1 million for municipalities in Cole County.
Mueller said Thursday the city had been awarded $58,133 in CARES Act funding for items including personal protective equipment, technology for telework capabilities and other public health supplies.
Mueller said the city had submitted about 30 projects when submissions for the funding began. Requests that hadn't been approved were resubmitted in October.
Last Thursday, Mayor Carrie Tergin and City Administrator Steve Crowell met with the commission, and it was determined the best way to handle the city's needs would be to submit a lump sum payroll and benefit amount.
During their meeting Thursday - which began after the Finance Committee's meeting - the County Commission approved an additional $834,040 to cover the payroll of Jefferson City's police, school resource officers, Mustang Task Force, 911 and fire department staff March 8-Oct. 3.
Also during Thursday's Finance Committee meeting, Diane Gillespie, executive director of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, presented the organization's proposed 2021 budget.
The CVB anticipates a drop in revenue in its next budget year of about 11.5 percent.
In 2020, the CVB's revenue was $1,305,816. The proposed revenue for the 2021 budget is $1,155,119.
The biggest decrease is a loss of $56,356 from a Missouri Department of Tourism co-op program. Gillespie said they anticipate the drop in revenue due to MDT's own funding issues.
Other significant decreases come from 7 percent decreases in hotel room tax and Missouri State Penitentiary tour tickets.
Some of the CVB's expenses are also down, leading to a balanced budget for 2021.
Gillespie said the CVB plans to decrease its marketing expenses about 10 percent.