FEMA Refunds Little Silver $1.67M for Sandy Cleanup

Little Silver will be reimbursed $1.67 million from the federal government for cleaning up after Sandy.

The borough was among four municipalities awarded funding in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's first round of reimbursements to towns recovering from Sandy, according to a release.

"This does not mean that Little Silver will suddenly receive a $1,668,150 check to spend as it pleases," Mayor Robert C. Neff said in an e-mail. "There is a continuing process that we will now go through with the State of New Jersey to determine how best to allocate that funding to offset our significant storm-related costs."

Little Silver officials appropriated $1.7 million last week to cover the costs of clearing streets of debris and repairing borough property and structures damaged during the storm.

The initial round of FEMA funding included $8.3 million earmarked for debris removal in Little Silver as well as:

• $1,125,000 for Plainfield
• $3,937,500 for Manalapan
• $1,582,350 for Keansburg

The grants are known as Public Assistance grants and are awarded by FEMA on a rolling basis after applications were received from the state. This coordinates the funding process with local muncipalities, according to the release

Neff said that from speaking with Sen. Frank Lautenberg's office, he learned that the timely submission of paperwork by the Little Silver Office of Emergency Management -- headed up by Officer Frank Salerno and Officer Pete Gibson -- "contributed to the rapid turnaround."

"The devastating damage done in our flood zone and elsewhere in town carries with it a devastating cost," Neff said, "and we are working full speed and doing whatever it takes to make sure that we are in a position to receive maximum reimbursement."