Town Manager Reports Lake City Directly Affected by Frozen FEMA Program
Town Manager Lex Mulhall attended a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) funding freeze meeting last month, where questions were answered about all federal funding freezes mandated by Trump’s executive orders. On this call were over six hundred attendees from town and county governments, schools, special districts and non-profit organizations, all of whom were being affected by the freezing of federal funds.Mulhall asked about the state revolving loan fund that will be used to fund the construction of Lake City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), set to begin this spring. He was told that funds that have already been rewarded are in possession of the state, but that no new funding is available and it is unknown when additional funding might become available.Further, Mulhall was informed that 35 lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s executive orders, and two judges have ruled frozen funds are to be released immediately until the matter is settled in court. Despite this, most federal funds are still frozen and intended recipients of those funds are unable to submit reimbursement requests. In his Town Manager report submitted at the March 5 Board of Trustees meeting, Mulhall informed Trustees, “The Trump administration is ignoring the court rulings” at this
