SUNBRIGHT, Tenn. — Sunbright and Morgan County will receive $10,000 in state funding to assist with rebuilding efforts from the April 2 EF-1 tornado.
Both will each receive $5,000 to be used for clean-up efforts or personnel overtime hours resulting from the tornado.
This funding, secured by Rep. Ed Butler (R-Rickman), comes after the small community would not be receiving any state or federal funding after not reaching the minimum threshold needed for relief.
Many residents of Sunbright said they felt let down by the state after an EF-1 tornado ripped through their town in early April.
Director of Morgan County Emergency Management, Ethan Webb said to be eligible for federal funding, the county needed to show damage of at least $96,761, which must happen in combination with the state threshold of $12,715,945.60 in order to get financial aid after a destructive storm.
This means that across the state of Tennessee, there would have needed to be a total of just over $12 million in damage, while Morgan County needed to sustain a minimum of $96,761 as well.
“The devastating tornado that tore through Sunbright earlier this year has required extensive clean-up efforts,” Butler said. “This funding will help ease the burden on the city and county and will hopefully speed up the rebuilding process. Residents and city leaders have come together and stepped up since April 2, and I thank my colleagues in the General Assembly for assisting in rebuilding efforts by supporting this important funding.”
According to lawmakers, the appropriated funds are part of a $52.8 billion zero-debt balanced budget that was passed by the General Assembly.
