Officials from the province will be at the Heritage Building Nov. 21-22 to meet with residents and guide them through damage claims from the Aug. 22 2016 flood.
Claims can be for any uninsurable property damage, loss or other expenses caused by the flood. The province approved Westlock’s application for Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) funding on Oct. 26.
“If people want to speak with a caseworker and fill out an application with them, they came come out,” said Town of Westlock municipal clerk Annette Boissonnault
Caseworkers will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21 and from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 22. People will be dealt with on a first come, first serve basis.
Claimants are asked to bring a government issued photo ID, a letter from their insurance company explaining what is not covered, utility bills for the three months prior to the flood and a 2015 property tax assessment for the homeowner, or a lease agreement covering the time of the flood.
Boissonnault cautioned that just because a claim is filed does not mean it will be accepted. She also pointed out that the town, which is making it’s own application, is only providing a venue for residents to meet with the province and is not involved the approval process.
“We’re just allowing caseworkers to use our facility,” she said.
“We are filling out our own application as well, so we still don’t know how much we will be covered or how long it will take. We know the program has been approved, we still don’t know what applications will be approved in the program.”
She noted that while the town is submitting one application for its damages, individual applications are considered separate even though they fall under the same umbrella.
“The town is not submitting applications on behalf of residents,” she stressed. “Residents themselves need to submit these applications.”
