Atlantic County Freeholders Approve Additional Funds For Sandy Relief

In passing a resolution on Tuesday, Jan. 15, accepting an additional $495,516 in grant money from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to help those impacted by Sandy, the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders brought the total amount of aid it will receive following Superstorm Sandy to $815,443.

Previously, the county had accepted $319,927 in grant money toward Sandy recovery. According to county officials, the Department of Labor made the grants available to municipalities affected by Sandy for public entities to hire individuals who could earn up to $12,000 to help towns recover. There were other counties unaffected by the storm that didn’t use their allotments, and offered their money to Atlantic County, which accepted it.

County officials said they could use the money to conduct work on homes of the residents who qualify for the Weatherization Program, funded by the federal government. Residents with disabilities and the elderly will be given preference for initial funding, according to county officials.

County officials said they could also use the money to subsidize the initial money set aside for the Atlantic Cape May area’s request to employ 80 participants for clean up projects.

Initially, Atlantic City and Brigantine were the only two municipalities in the county that asked for the funds, according to county officials.

“This serves a twofold purpose,” Freeholder Frank Sutton said. “It puts people back to work and they can help people having trouble with their homes.”

The grant doesn’t require cash or in-kind match, and it doesn’t call for the use of any county funds. It will be incorporated into the 2012 budget.