Iowa Town to Give $1 Million in State Flood Aid Directly to Homeowners

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Waterloo, Iowa got its flood money. Now, the city has to figure out what to do with it.

The city council voted on October 2 to approve more than $1 million in aid from state agencies.

Mayor Tim Hurley says now he and his staff have to determine which grant applicants get money and when. Hurley says he thinks it unfair to run the first-come, first-serve system encouraged by the state, but says he doesn’t want to wait too long.

The city is expecting to begin processing checks for homeowners next week. The state money was about $680,000 in housing assistance and about $450,000 in business aid.

Unlike typical housing-assistance money, the state dollars go directly to homeowners instead of through contractors.