Lincoln County authorizes transfers to cover $1.77M debris bill tied to Hurricane Aleene

At a March 19, 2025 meeting, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners unanimously authorized the chairman and the county finance director to move money from Raymond James accounts into the county general fund if the general fund cash balance drops below $500,000 on the first day of a month, a step county leaders said is needed to pay outstanding debris-removal invoices from Hurricane Aleene.

The action follows staff summaries showing total debris-related costs of $2,938,905, of which the county had paid $1,170,969 and still owed $1,768,635. County documents presented at the meeting listed Ceres Environmental invoices for debris removal totaling $2,219,954.90, monitoring invoices to Rostand of about $670,167 and a consulting invoice of $48,782.

The board’s finance director (name not specified in the transcript) told commissioners that one of the requirements for federal reimbursement is evidence of payment: “One of the requirements for us to get our money back is for us to actually write the checks. One of the things that we have to do to submit to FEMA, GEMA are copies of canceled checks,” the finance director said. County staff emphasized the need to pay contractors before reimbursement arrives.

Finance staff reported a general fund checking balance of about $2,942,997 and total County cash of $11,678,384, but noted that much of that money is restricted and not available for general use. The finance director proposed immediately transferring $535,000 from a Raymond James enhanced savings account if needed and seeking authority to let two $250,000 certificates of deposit maturing in May not renew so the funds could be used if reimbursement does not arrive in time.

Emergency-management staff and the county’s grant coordinator briefed commissioners on the federal reimbursement timeline. A county speaker familiar with the FEMA/GEMA process said the county is in phase three of four of the reimbursement application and that, based on current processing for large projects, allocation to the state typically takes weeks to a few months: “We’re we’re looking at, you know, 3 months, 3 to 4 months under currently what’s going on,” the speaker said, while noting federal guidelines allow up to 18–36 months for final closeout.

Commissioners discussed cash-flow risks during the county’s lean months (July–September). The adopted motion directs the chairman and finance director to transfer funds from Raymond James to maintain a minimum general fund balance of about $500,000 on the first day of each month; the motion passed unanimously.

The county made no change to the underlying debt or to FEMA/GEMA rules; staff said the transfers would be temporary, and that reimbursed funds would restore the accounts once federal/state payments arrive. Commissioners also noted the county is fronting amounts that may include city shares of the work; staff said the county had been advancing city costs but did not have the exact city share amount available at the meeting.

Votes at a glance: the board voted to authorize the chairman and finance director to move Raymond James funds into the general fund as needed to prevent the general fund from dropping below $500,000 on the first day of any month. The motion carried unanimously.

Lincoln County officials said the payments are necessary to secure FEMA/GEMA reimbursement and that timing for state-level processing is uncertain, ranging from a few months for allocation to as long as federal guidelines allow for closeout.