FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BRIDGEWATER TWP APPROPRIATES FUNDS FOR IDA REPAIR & RECOVERY, PURSUES REIMBURSEMENT FROM FEDERAL & STATE AGENCIES

Bridgewater, NJ – Earlier tonight, the Bridgewater Township Council introduced a pair of ordinances appropriating $2.4 million toward the fulfillment of budgetary commitments made in the immediate aftermath of the immensely devastating Hurricane Ida.

“In the hours following the storm we had to begin repair and recovery operations immediately—and then sustain those operations through the following days, weeks and months. We had roads and portions of roads that were just destroyed in some cases, and unsafely compromised in others. The Council acted quickly to allow us to make those financial commitments, and now that the work is completed, we need to fulfill them,” said Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench.

Moench continued, “But what’s important going forward is that we continue our efforts to seek reimbursement from FEMA and other agencies for the work we did in response to the storm. Municipal governments aren’t built to be disaster-recovery agencies, and we need to find ways to be made whole and to make our residents whole as recovery continues.”

Councilman Michael Kirsh agreed. “We knew we had to respond immediately, and we are proud to have done so. We honor our commitments, but as the Mayor said, we need to continue to seek reimbursement opportunities wherever we can find them.”

Councilman Howard Norgalis, the Council Finance Committee Chair, emphasized the scope and scale of the work already completed. “Our Engineering staff, our DPW workers, our Administration—all of these people came together to bring us the quickest, safest and most efficient repair schedule we could have had. I would like to thank the hardworking staff that brought these resources to bear for the betterment of our affected residents. It was truly a colossal task.”