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The Dripby Mark Reutter5:11 pmJun 19, 20150

Baltimore denied federal-aid disaster relief

The denial – not unexpected – means that Washington will not reimburse the city or state for the costs of the April 27 riot

Above: The Maryland National Guard guards the entrance to Baltimore’s City Hall after the April 27 riot.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied Baltimore’s request for a disaster declaration stemming from the April 27 riot, the first step required in obtaining federal reimbursement funds.

The denial was not unexpected.

As The Brew reported last week, disaster declarations almost always involve natural disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy that struck New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast in 2012.

The federal government has not reimbursed civil-unrest-related “disasters” since the 1992 Rodney King disturbances in Los Angeles.

Hopes Raised

Despite the odds against winning a disaster designation, both Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake raised hopes that up to 75% of the costs arising from the April 27 riot would be reimbursed by Washington.

The city has estimated its direct costs at about $19 million. Last month, the Board of Estimates allocated $20 million in supplemental funds to pay overtime to police and firefighters deployed during the week-long unrest and to city agencies involved in post-riot cleanup.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) disclosed the denial of the disaster declaration today to the Associated Press.

Appeal Planned

Like all decisions by FEMA, the denial can be appealed.

A spokesperson for Gov. Hogan said he planned to appeal through MEMA, and Rawlings-Blake wrote a letter to the governor yesterday saying:

“I urge you to file such an appeal on behalf of the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland. My administration and I stand ready to provide any additional documentation or information that you feel would be necessary for our state to successfully appeal this decision.”

Ferguson, Mo., the scene of riots last August, received no disaster designation or financial assistance from FEMA, according to on-line federal records.

The riots were considered a local law-enforcement matter.

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