Mayville officials review tornado response, siren repairs and set up disaster relief fund

Mayville officials told council committees that emergency services and residents responded quickly to a tornado on May 15, and the city has opened a disaster relief fund to collect reimbursements, insurance recoveries and donations for cleanup and repairs.

City staff described coordinated responses by police, fire, public works and outside agencies, and said no injuries were reported. Officials reported that the city’s tornado sirens sounded twice during the event and that the second alert prompted residents to shelter; staff said the sirens were functioning but one unit near South Park Street sustained damage and will be repaired under insurance.

The disaster relief fund will collect three revenue streams: reimbursements through the Wisconsin disaster fund (a state program), insurance recoveries and private donations. City staff told committees they submitted preliminary damage estimates to the county to begin the state reimbursement process and documented city equipment and property damage for insurance claims. Officials said some cleanup costs and overtime are eligible for reimbursement; ordinary on-duty wages are not reimbursed under the state grant criteria.

Committee members also discussed how FEMA or other federal programs require stricter documentation (for example, tree removals must be geocoded), and that municipal expenses will be kept in the separate disaster fund so the general fund and levy limit are not directly affected.

Next steps: staff will continue to collect quotes and receipts, submit them to insurance and the county/state process, and establish criteria for any discretionary distribution of donated funds once the disaster relief account is active.