Tornado Cleanup Costs Put Alabama County in Budget Crunch

Officials in the Huntsville, Ala., area say the cost of cleaning up after damaging tornadoes last month is putting a strain on the county budget, with officials still awaiting $1 million in federal and state aid related to storm damage from a year ago.

Madison County Commissioner Roger Jones says the county is facing “a pretty good budget crunch” because of the delay in getting disaster recovery funds for the tornado damage from April 2011. Another powerful storm struck March 2, damaging and destroying several dozen homes throughout the county.

The Huntsville Times reports the federal government has already paid the county more than $750,000 related to the 2011 tornadoes. But an additional $1 million, mostly for debris removal, is still pending approval.