FEMA aid rejection: Local governments outside Milwaukee also denied flood relief

MUSKEGO, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A crooked line of orange barrels and yellow tape spans the stretch of Gold Drive that was washed out nearly three months ago over Jewel Creek. On Friday, officials in Muskego learned they will not qualify for federal disaster aid following August's historic flooding across southeastern Wisconsin.

Mayor Rick Petfalski said the city is pushing to get the road rebuilt as soon as possible. Officials are skeptical as to whether the road in its patched over shape will be able to withstand the coming months of snow, ice and eventually, thawing.

"It's safe enough to drive over, but it's not gonna survive a winter," Petfalski said Tuesday. "So, we need to get moving on that."

The Trump administration approved disaster relief for individuals who reported losses in the August flooding. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rejected Wisconsin's request for cities and counties seeking assistance with repairs to public property.

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow said between the county's property and all municipalities, the county suffered more than $2.5 million in damages to roads, bridges and buildings.

Farrow said he was confident Wisconsin's request for public assistance would be approved after FEMA toured damaged areas, including the downtown riverwalk in Waukesha, which is still closed due to missing plank boards.

"When we had FEMA out here, and our team from Emergency Preparedness was walking around with them," Farrow said. "It appeared that we met all the thresholds and concerns they had when it came to the level of impact."

Farrow said Waukesha County would come up with the $300,000 to repair county property by pushing off relatively minor projects scheduled for next year, such as road repavements.

While speaking with reporters Monday, Gov. Tony Evers questioned whether the FEMA rejection was politically motivated.

Last week, the Trump administration approved disaster declaration requests in Alaska, Nebraska and North Dakota while rejecting requests from Illinois, Michigan, Vermont and Wisconsin.

"The recent ones, that had Democratic governors, didn't get it," Evers said.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration denied disaster requests from Arkansas after tornadoes and West Virginia after flooding.

Farrow, a former chairman of the Wisconsin GOP, said he was unsure as to whether the Wisconsin rejection was dictated by politics.

"I think politics infects everything that goes on at the state level, the federal level right now," he said. "I don't know if there was a political reason because, if you look at it that way, Wisconsin was won by Trump."

Gov. Tony Evers has said he will appeal the FEMA disaster denial. Both Farrow and Petfalski said if FEMA stands by its decision, they want the Evers administration to tap into the Wisconsin Disaster Fund to help local governments.

The FEMA Public Assistance request covered damage in Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.

Petfalski said Muskego has enough of a fund balance to rebuild Gold Drive without having to sacrifice anything else in its 2026 budget. However, he said the repairs could affect what projects are feasible in 2027.

More than that, he said he believed Muskego's damage to roads and sewerage lift stations should qualify for federal aid, based on past precedent.

"I realize the federal government isn't a blank check, and they can't pay for every tragedy out there," Petfalski said. "But if you look at the last five years on how some of the FEMA money has been being spent, I thought this was kind of a no-brainer, since this is really a generational type of flood."