Flood relief funds reach 33% of the $2 million target, Burlington has yet to learn if the province is going to participate.

By Pepper Parr

October 1, 2014

BURLINGTON, ON.

The forms needed to apply for financial assistance if your home was flooded on August 4th are now available on the Burlington Community Foundation web site. 

During debate at a Council Standing Committee Mayor Goldring made the point that no one is going to be made whole with what they might get from the fund raising that has been done in the community.
Goldring pointed out that the funds are intended for people who were under-insured or un-insured.
That 48 inch colour TV screen is not going to be covered – but the furnace that was under three feet of water can be covered.

The city had previously outsourced the creation of a Flood Relief program to the Burlington Community Foundation because that is what the province required. Monday evening the city approved the appointment of the members of the Flood Disaster Relief Committee.

It’s an impressive committee and while it could not and should not include anyone who is likely to make a claim – there doesn’t appear to be anyone of limited means on the list: Catherine Brady; Kevin Brady; Susan Busby; John Chisholm; Ron Foxcroft; Steven Joyce; Jeff Paiken; Phil Reddon; Michael Shih; Steve Stipsits; Linda Davies; Keith Strong; Dorothy Borovich; Allan Pearson; Ed Hannah; Rick Burgess; Don Smith; Doug Leggat; Scott Barnard; Wayne Hussey and Jeff Valentin.

The list appears just a little too” white”; made up of the “entitled”. Who put this list together and is it reflective of the people of Burlington?

But those are the people in place – so be it.

Ron Foxcroft, on the right, gives Mayor Goldring a close look during a discussion at the Burlington Community Foundation offices.

When Ron Foxcroft was asked to take on leadership of the fund raising he set himself a 100 day target to raise $2 million from the community. The expectation was that Burlington would be given the $2 for every $1 raised in the community – which would make $6 million available for distribution.

As of noon today that figure was at $660,000 – 33% of the target with two banks waiting in the wings for their photo-op.

The Red Cross reported that 531 homes were likely to need major help and that 271 of these were either un-insured or under insured. They also estimated that it was going to cost something in the order of an average of $18,000 to get homes to the point where they had the fundamentals in place – a furnace that works and washers and dryers.

Councillor Sharman, who can always be relied upon to run the numbers, told his colleagues that he wasn’t certain the numbers he was hearing would work. With 271 homes being given $18,000 that comes to a total of $4,878,000 which is well within the $6 million the city hopes to see available to the BCF for distribution.

The BCF is in the process of reviewing the short list for an insurance adjuster who be hired to review every claim.

Council authorized the Interim City Manager to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Burlington Community Foundation that will allow the city to cover the cost of support services to the Flood Disaster Relief Committee, including but without limiting services related to the design and implementation of the Flood Disaster Relief Program, fundraising, communications and claims adjudication and settlement.

The city expects it will recover any funds it passes along to the BCF from the provincial government. The city manager is to report back periodically to the Development and Infrastructure Committee as the work of the Flood Disaster Relief Committee and the Burlington Community Foundation progresses.

City council appears to believe that this program will be wrapped up by the end of the year.

There are people in this city who certainly hope so.