Peoria County is relying on volunteer help in the wake of last month’s flooding. Assistant Administrator Scott Sorrel says the County is reaching out to trained volunteers in Christian County to help with disaster assessments. He says additional Red Cross staff will also help answer flood-related calls, and volunteer architects from across the state will help calculate damage.
“Our approach is that we want to add resources where we need them, and we want to do that first in an economic manner, but also in an manner we are mostly to get reimbursed as part of the federal declaration when that comes. In our estimation some of the best ways to do that is to rely on trained professional volunteers,” Sorrel says.
Sorrel says having the extra help will keep costs down because the county will only cover volunteer-related expenses like mileage and meals. He says those costs typically are covered by Federal Disaster Relief funding. County Board member Brad Harding suggested earlier this week that the County hire additional full-time employees to help with the emergency management response. Sorrel says the County should explore other options before adding to its headcount.
The county expects ten volunteers from Christian County to arrive Friday. The group of architects are set to arrive late next week.