MIAMI, AZ (AZFamily) — The small Arizona towns of Miami and Globe have been denied federal disaster declarations following deadly flooding in September that killed four people in Gila County, leaving both communities facing a significant funding gap for recovery.
Miami Councilman Phil Stewart and Town Manager Alexis Rivera reached out to Arizona’s Family Investigates after their request was denied.
“People died and that weighs heavily on us,” Stewart said. “The denial is of course a big point of frustration for us. We’re working very diligently to secure funding so we can make sure our municipality is safe.”
$60 million gap with $3 million budget
Miami officials estimate the cost of rebuilding at approximately $60 million. The town’s annual budget is just under $3 million.
In response to questions, FEMA said the Trump administration has implemented a more rigorous review process for disaster declaration requests.
Denial rate data shows partisan pattern
Sarah Labowitz, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who studies disaster response, said FEMA’s major disaster declaration denial rate held steady at about 15% over the last 20 years.
“The federal government is supposed to come in when the state and local government have had their capacity to respond, it’s gone beyond that,” Labowitz said. “So, they phone a friend. They phone the federal government.”
Under the Trump administration, Labowitz’s research shows more than 50% of requests from Democratic governors have been denied, compared to about 17% denied from Republican governors.
“We saw just a lot of dismantling of the ways FEMA has traditionally run,” she said.
Miami committed to rebuilding despite denial
Despite the rejection, Stewart said the town intends to continue pursuing recovery.
“It’s slow and it’s frustrating, and sometimes tempers will boil over, but you know, we have to stay the course, and we will stay the course and get this done,” he said.
Labowitz also noted that FEMA has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since President Trump took office. She said she hopes a newly confirmed leader will result in a less partisan process going forward.
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