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By Buzz Trexler

Star Correspondent

State Sen. Rusty Crowe is appealing to Gov. Bill Lee for additional disaster-relief funds, suggesting the much-needed assistance can be pulled from the nearly $2.1 billion now in the state’s “rainy-day fund.”

“If ever rainy-day funds were to be appropriately utilized, I would think this could certainly be the time,” Crowe said in a letter sent to the governor on Tuesday, asking that he support “a conservative, but fitting appropriation” from those funds to help Northeast Tennessee recover from the storm.

The 3rd District senator – who serves Carter, Johnson and Washington counties – thanked the governor for the help that has been given thus far, saying Lee has “gone above and beyond,” but more financial assistance is needed given the devastation.

“I don’t think I have ever seen such devastation in such a short time, especially in Unicoi and Carter counties,” Crowe writes. “Areas in Johnson and Washington counties are also almost beyond belief in destruction brought by the flood waters.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene hitting Northeast Tennessee, Lee established the HEAL Program, a $100 million fund designed to help a 12-county area that includes the counties cited by Crowe in the letter. “The HEAL dollars will be a Godsend, as contractors doing work in removing debris and working with water and sewage problems must be paid quickly,” Crowe writes, but it falls about $150 million short of Carter County’s need.

“The HEAL need there is around $8 to $9 million,” Crowe writes. “However, the remaining need there in Carter County above and beyond the debris removal and water and sewer needs, is around $180 million. They have around $20 million or so in their rainy-day fund.”

In the letter, Crowe recalls that a 1996 Senate bill he sponsored along with Sen. Doug Henry and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally planted the seeds of the so-called “rainy-day fund.” The legislation passed and mandated, “Any funds in the reserve for revenue fluctuations not utilized in any one fiscal year shall be carried over to the next fiscal year and be available as set out herein.” 

Crowe asked that the governor support appropriating a “conservative, but fitting,” amount from the fund to meet the disaster-relief needs in either a special session of the legislature, or early in the regular session. The 114th General Assembly convenes at noon, Jan. 14, 2025.

On Sept. 27, the remnants of Hurricane Helene brought high winds and flooding to Northeast Tennessee and Western North Carolina, leaving 17 confirmed storm-related deaths in the state: eight in Unicoi County, four in Washington, two in Cocke, and one each in Greene, Knox, and Johnson counties. There were no deaths in Carter County, but the damage has been widespread.

Elizabethton suffered extensive damage to utilities and city-owned properties and forced the closure of Broad Street Bridge because of safety concerns. Tennessee Department of Transportation is continuing to investigate whether floodwaters negatively impacted the bridge’s integrity.