In one of the many low income rural communities struck by flooding earlier this year residents and local officials are still wrangling over how to spend recovery money. At issue is 20-million dollars in state funds for the Central Valley town of Planada. CalMatters' Nicole Foy reports.
The money is meant to help Planada recover from last winter's floods.
At a community meeting Tuesday night 11/21. Merced County officials presented a draft spending plan.
Many residents want the money to help pay off the debt they incurred for things like replacing and repairing their waterlogged cars and homes.
But local leaders want to put some of the recovery aid towards infrastructure projects.
Regardless of the spending breakdown the county's projected timeline says residents are unlikely to see any money until early 2024. That's more than a year after the floods hit Planada.
Statewide, disaster recovery experts are keeping their eye on what happens as other communities face similar recovery challenges.