UNION CITY, MI (WTVB) – Union City has emerged as the only local government in Branch County to secure state financial assistance following a devastating March tornado outbreak.
The funding comes as part of a $547,944 grant approved by Governor Gretchen Whitmer from the state’s Disaster and Emergency Contingency Fund, which is being distributed among impacted communities in Branch, Cass, and St. Joseph counties. A
Union City applied for the maximum allowable $200,000 to help offset the massive municipal costs incurred during emergency response and infrastructure restoration.
The state funding is critical for the village after FEMA officially denied federal disaster assistance for the region earlier this year, ruling that the localized destruction did not meet the strict financial thresholds required for major federal aid.
Union City Village Manager Chris Mathis says that between $150,000 and $160,000 of the relief funds will directly reimburse mutual aid utility crews from Sturgis, Marshall, Coldwater, and Hillsdale, who rushed to help restore the village’s municipal electrical system around Union Lake.
Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Miner explained that while other regional communities suffered widespread residential damage from the EF-2 and EF-3 tornadoes, Union City was the lone entity to cross the strict spending and documentation thresholds required to qualify for the state level reimbursement.
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