Mayor Garnett Johnson pushes for Hurricane Helene relief funds at state capitol
ATLANTA (WJBF) – Augusta's Mayor Garnett Johnson met with leaders in the Georgia State Capitol to push for funds to help the CSRA.
Mayor Johnson said it's now been more than 160 days since Hurricane Helene ravaged through the state and many are still reeling from the devastation. He met with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the state's GEMA director and the department of community affairs to get around $200 million dollars to help with clean up and recovery efforts.
Johnson said the goal is to build Augusta back bigger and better, but did say the city may look a little different this year as it gets ready to welcome thousands of visitors for Masters Week. He says many were underinsured or uninsured and still need help with housing.
'Our crucial need is along our Augusta Canal where 70% of our drinking water is derived through the canal. Many folks know that the canal was greatly damaged by Hurricane Helene through downed trees and it potentially creates and our canal failing. Our first ask is to fix our critical infrastructure and that is drinking water,' said Mayor Johnson.
This week, Governor Kemp signed the 2025 amended fiscal budget and allocated $867 million dollars for response costs, relief, grants to rural areas and critical access hospitals and disaster relief assistance to impacted farmers and timber producers who were impacted by Hurricane Helene.
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