City ponders $4m in flood grants

The city is preparing to give out upward of 4,000 grants to flood victims.

The aid program could cost the city $2 million to $4 million depending on council's direction at an emergency meeting today.

Staff revealed the preliminary numbers in an e-mail to council yesterday. The draft motion calls for compassionate grants to be increased to $1,000 from $750.

It also recommends investigating additional help for residents who don't have sewer backup insurance coverage because they've faced previous floods. Staff based their initial cost estimates on giving $5,000 grants to uninsured homeowners.

Councillors Sam Merulla and Chad Collins plan to ask council to provide full compensation in those cases and want the city to pick up any costs not covered by insurance for all homeowners.

In the e-mail, Rob Rossini, general manager of finance and corporate services, said the city has had 2,000 affected homeowners register with its damage claims hotline. He estimated the city will need to give out 4,000 grants, making this storm as large as the last 10 storms combined since the city started its compassionate grants program in 2005.

Last night, Rossini cautioned the figures are early estimates and could change today as staff gather more data and council discusses the issues.