WASHINGTON (June 7, 2010)—Today at an event at the firehouse in Montgomery County, Congressman Chandler joined city and fire officials to announce the allocation of $85,800 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to the Montgomery County Fire Department. This money will be used to purchase two new fire trucks for the department. After the announcement, Chandler met with local officials and toured the areas affected by May’s severe flooding.
“The Recovery Act is at work in Montgomery County today,” Chandler said. “We have to make sure that everyone—no matter where they live—has access to vital services like fire departments, police, and other facilities, especially when tough economic times stretch local budgets thin. You all worked hard for this grant, and I hope that these two fire trucks will make the very difficult job of protecting the county a little bit easier.”
The Recovery Act, passed in the wake of the 2008 economic crash and supported by Congressman Chandler, has helped create and save local jobs, provide tax cuts to families and businesses, improve infrastructure, and make investments in education, research, and long-term growth. It also plugged holes in state budgets, saving the jobs of thousands of teachers, firefighters, and policemen. The federal funding announced today was allocated through the Recovery Act as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Community Facilities program, providing funding for essential public facilities in rural areas.
After the announcement, Chandler met with city officials and toured the Hinkston Creek area in Mt. Sterling with residents who were affected by the recent flooding. In May of this year, Chandler worked with the Kentucky delegation requesting that President Obama make affected parts of Kentucky eligible for federal assistance. President Obama originally declared only Lincoln and Woodford Counties to be eligible for federal assistance. However, after Chandler continued to urge the inclusion of additional affected counties in Central Kentucky, Anderson, Boyle, Estill, Franklin, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Powell, and Woodford Counties are now eligible for federal aid to recover from the storm.
“My thoughts and prayers continue to be with those affected by the storms,” Chandler said. “There is still much to be done, and we will work together to rebuild and recover.”
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