The Butler County 2020 budget has one line item for flood prevention. $13,500.00 out of $68,000,000.00.

Historic Harmony Borough has lost millions of dollars due to flooding caused by a major lack of concern or action by the Butler County government.

How would you feel with 10 feet of water in your house or your business? Harmony Zelienople and Jackson Township have had five major catastrophic floods in the last 50 years.

Surprise, the government does not buy you all new stuff and fix your house.

As a result of these floods the government has taken Harmony and Jackson private property and bulldozed it to the ground, never to be used again. The government can take your insurance, have your mortgage canceled and freeze your deed, leaving you with nothing. This will happen to flood victims if action is not taken by Butler County.

The cause of the increased flooding is irresponsible development and the failure of Butler County government to protect its citizens.

There is no plan for the county to lead a comprehensive fight to address flooding and no funding to support the effort.

The county expects the local victim governments like Harmony, Zelienople and Evans City to organize and fund a solution. That will not happen because the victim communities are the only ones starting to look for solutions, and their budgets for 2020 are not including money to give to the cause.

We request the county budget $1 million to plan and execute a comprehensive flood prevention plan for the communities being flooded? We don’t want a loan or a grant. We want the money in the 2020 budget before the budget is approved on Dec. 27. It is our money, given(?) to the county to protect us, not to protect the developers, and certainly not to sit on while Butler County citizens are being flooded.

James E Hulings, Harmony