After a meeting with state and federal emergency management officials, Macon is one step closer to receiving federal dollars for tornado relief.
The city qualified for the money after President Bush declared several Georgia counties disaster areas. The designation clears the way for federal help. Officials from Macon and Bibb County learned how to navigate their way through a ten step process.
Gary Rice is with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. He says one of the first steps is what FEMA calls an applicants briefing.
"What we do is we come in from the state side and try to brief the cities and counties that's been affected on the policies and procedures that we'll have to follow in order to qualify for Federal reimbursement," said Rice.
Local agencies are now submitting their financial proposals to FEMA and plan to meet in the coming weeks to kick off the recovery. The Mother's Day tornado's caused millions of dollars in damage in several Middle Georgia counties.
(Josephine Bennett reporting)
