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The Legal Services Corporation has awarded an emergency grant to Legal Services Law Line of Vermont to provide civil legal assistance to low-income persons affected by the widespread flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene in August.  For more information read the attached press release. 

Release Date: 9/24/11

DR-4022-VT NR 034

FEMA News Desk: 802-951-2700

VEM Mark Bosma: 800-347-0488

News Release

TROPICAL STORM IRENE END OF WEEK SUMMARY

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Just three weeks after Sept. 1-the date Vermont received a major disaster declaration due to the effects of Tropical Storm Irene-FEMA has approved nearly $14 million in assistance grants to individuals and families.

That includes over $13 million for housing assistance to help repair, rebuild or replace housing and for rental assistance, as well as more than $708,000 for assistance with other needs, such as replacement of personal property or medical expenses.

Other numbers:

· 5,468 registrations have been received.

· 2,187 Vermonters have been approved for housing assistance, and 112 have received the maximum individual housing program award of $30,200. The average housing award is just under $6,000.

· 1,049 Vermonters have been approved for temporary rental assistance grants.

· There are 13 inspectors in the field and 3,360 property inspections to document damage have been completed. The turnaround time for applicants to receive inspections is just over two days.

· The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued 4,912 loan applications to homeowners and businesses in Vermont. To date a total of 345 have been returned, and 31 applications totaling $1,808,500 have been approved in low-interest loans.

Following is a summary of some disaster assistance available:
· Disaster Unemployment is available to those whose jobs were permanently or temporarily lost due to the disaster, including those who are self-employed. Anyone who lost work and lived, worked, or was scheduled to work in a county that has received a federal disaster designation may apply for benefits by calling the Vermont Department of Labor’s Claim Assistance Line at 1-877-214-3330. The filing deadline for assistance is October 7, 2011.

· Renters – not just homeowners – in 12 Vermont counties who had damage due to Tropical Storm Irene are encouraged to register with FEMA. Renters may receive grants to replace lost property or if they were displaced from their homes, they may be eligible for funds to help them with temporary rental assistance. These funds are for a limited period until the renter’s previous home is habitable or another permanent rental is found.

· Housing Hotline: The state and FEMA have established a toll-free number and a fax number to receive calls from anyone who has housing available to rent or wishes to offer housing at no cost for Vermonters displaced by the flood. The toll-free phone number is 866-330-5286 and the fax number is 540-686-4467.

· Legal Services: Those facing legal issues due to Tropical Storm Irene may call (800) 889-2047 for free legal advice. Those who qualify for assistance will be matched with Vermont lawyers volunteering their time. Legal assistance may include help with insurance claims, home repair contracts and contractors, replacement of wills and other legal documents destroyed in the disaster and counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems and landlord/tenant problems.

· The U.S. Small Business Administration provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes. If you are referred to SBA after you register with FEMA, you should fill out the paperwork to see whether the SBA can offer you a loan. If you do not fill out an SBA packet it may close the door to other FEMA grants. For more information, call 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities). Applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov or completed online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ele/.

· Economic Injury Disaster Loans: The SBA offers these loans to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private non-profit organizations. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are intended to help meet working capital needs if you’ve lost business income because of the disaster. The loans are available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

· National Flood Insurance Program: State and federal officials are encouraging Vermont residents in NFIP-participating communities to sign up for federally-backed flood insurance before Sept. 30, when the program is set to expire. While funding for the National Flood Insurance Program has traditionally been extended by Congress, officials warn that during the period between its expiration and when a new funding measure is approved, residents seeking flood insurance may be unable to acquire it.

Ø Those communities that have chosen not to participate in NFIP or have been suspended from the program due to noncompliance of the guidelines – “sanctioned communities” – can file a “resolution of intent” to join, or rejoin.

Ø Until the resolution is filed, residents will not be eligible for some FEMA assistance.

Ø The final deadline to join the NFIP in order to apply for FEMA assistance for Tropical Storm Irene is March 31, 2012. Communities interested in joining should contact the Rivers Program at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation at: 802-241-1554

· Eleven disaster recovery centers are currently open and 2,456 visits have been made to them. Visiting a center is not necessary to receive disaster assistance, but those who would like to speak to a recovery specialist face-to-fact can visit one for more information. To find one in your area, go to www.fema.gov/drclocator.

Community relations teams are also reminding Vermonters that they cannot register for FEMA assistance by calling 211. FEMA’s registration number is: 800-621-FEMA (3362). If you have a speech disability or hearing loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week until further notice, and multilingual assistance is available.

Online registration is available at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or at FEMA’s mobile website, m.fema.gov for Smartphone or tablet users. FEMA also has an app for android phones, which can be downloaded at market.android.com/details?id=gov.fema.mobile.android.

Online registration helps to reduce the number of forms you have to fill out, shortens the time it takes to apply for aid and allows you to check the progress of your application online.

This press release originally appeared in vtdigger.org. 

Due to the damage caused by tropical storm Irene, the Vermont Tax Commissioner has extended the deadline for filing for a Renter Rebate for 2010  from September 1, to September 30, 2011. 

For more information go to the Department of Taxes website.

 "Vermont Army National Guard flatbeds are delivering emergency supplies to towns devastated by Tropical Storm Irene, while some of Vermont’s elected officials, accompanied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, fly overhead and survey the damage.

"At 12:18 p.m., two Blackhawk helicopters departed the Vermont Air Guard base in South Burlington with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. among their passengers.

"They took flight shortly after Fugate arrived at the base, with plans to touch down near high schools in Ludlow, Wilmington and Brattleboro. Shumlin has scheduled a news conference at 4 p.m. today at the base, following the helicopter tour..."

Read the rest of the article in the Burlington Free Press.

"VHFA launched a new website today: Vermont Rental Housing Codes. The site provides guidance on the health and safety standards that existing residential rental housing in Vermont must meet.

"'Finally landlords, tenants, and municipalities have one place to look for rental codes, instead of searching through several different websites to cobble together what applies to them,' said Executive Director Sarah Carpenter. 'For most renters –and landlords – it has been hard to know exactly what applies to them and who is responsible for what. This site tries to clarify the most common questions.'

"The site was developed as an outgrowth of a study committee established by the 2008 Legislature’s Act 176, which established a safe rental housing study committee, which Carpenter chaired. The committee reported on its work to the Legislature in February 2010."

This press release from the Housing Matters Blog was issued August 18 by VHFA. 

Read the latest edition of Vermont Legal Aid's newsletter- Justice Quaterly.  You can also sign up to receive JQ by email.

Summer 2011 Edition includes information about the following:

"In one of her last acts as governor in 1990, Madeleine Kunin nominated Denise Johnson as the first female justice on the Vermont Supreme Court.

 "'It was a thrilling moment when she was appointed and sworn in,' Kunin recalled Wednesday. She had recommended Johnson for the top judicial post 'based on merit,' but argued as well that it was time for a woman to serve on the state’s highest court.

"Two decades later, as Johnson prepares to retire from the court Aug. 31, Kunin takes even more pride in her choice.

"'She has served with great distinction,' Kunin said.

"Johnson, who will turn 64 in July, said in an interview Wednesday she is stepping down because 'it is time to do new things.' That might include working on international rule of law projects, she said.

"Cheryl Hanna, professor of constitutional law at Vermont Law School, called Johnson 'a historic figure.'

"'She was not only the first woman, but the court’s first feminist,' Hanna said. 'She did a remarkable job bringing gender issues to the forefront,' she said, citing a gender bias study as one example of her work.

"'Women in Vermont have a lot to be grateful for because of her,' Hanna said. Johnson is one of two women on the five-member court. Associate Justice Marilyn Skoglund was appointed in 1997.

"Gov. Peter Shumlin in a written statement called Johnson 'a civil rights giant,' noting her work as the first woman to chair the Vermont Human Rights Commission as well as her years on the Supreme Court..."

Read the rest of the article in the Burlington Free Press.

"The Vermont Supreme Court has announced court furlough days stretching into 2012, which it hopes will save the state $1 million and the counties $1.2 million.

"Patricia Gabel, director of Court Improvement and Innovation, said the furlough days will affect all courts except for two that will remain on hand to conduct emergency proceedings related to public safety. She said furlough days have been used since the beginning of the state’s budget crisis, and have included one half-day closing a week.

"With the restructuring of the judiciary, the half-day closings were eliminated last year.

"Not a surprise

"She said the furloughs are not a surprise to court personnel, as the fiscal situation hasn’t changed and the appropriations to the courts didn’t go up. She said the Supreme Court is committed to giving people access to justice, but cases are taking longer to resolve.

"The courts have 'clearance rate' goals for cases, she said. When the budget cuts were put into place no change was seen immediately, and once the courts are funded in full again it will be some time before the rate of clearance comes back into line..."

Read the rest of the story in the Bennington Banner.  For more information about the furlough schedule visit the Vermont Judiciary website.

"A proposed jobs bill approved by the Vermont Senate on Friday includes a provision for tax-increment financing, which will help assist with economic development for up to 10 communities, including possibly Colchester, South Burlington, Milton and Barre City.

 "TIF districts are creative agreements to allow a municipality to build infrastructure such as streets and sidewalks by using revenue from property taxes that would normally go to the statewide property tax fund. 

"TIFs have been successful in helping with the development of the Burlington waterfront, two Milton industrial parks, including the Huskey Injection Molding Systems, and the redevelopment of downtown Winooski.

"Orleans-Essex Sen. Vince Illuzzi, chairman of the Economic Development Committee, said Sunday senators had been working since January on a jobs bill. He said the bill is vital as the state looks to rebound from the recession.

"The bill needs to go to a joint conference committee because the House version passed earlier this year does not include TIFs, Illuzzi said.

"The 10 TIFs would be selected over the next 10 years and would need approval by the Vermont Tax Department. Towns would draw the lines for the specify area covered. Instead of sending the state the tax revenues for that area, 75 percent would be retained by the community for needed upgrades, Illuzzi said..."

Read the rest of the article in the Burlington Free Press.

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. — A Vermont attorney will give a presentation on the ABCs of landlord-tenant law that addresses issues from both sides.

Kristina Michelsen, of Hardwick, will deliver the lunchtime lecture at 12 p.m. May 10 at the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, in St. Johnsbury. It's part of a brown bag lecture series at the St. Johnsbury library.

Michelsen, who has worked in private practice and with Vermont Legal Aid, has represented landlords and tenants at different times.

The event, which is open to the public, will have a question-and-answer session.

This article was published in the Daily Reporter.