Governor Doug Ducey issued a letter Monday to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke requesting their support in providing reimbursements to Arizona’s local fire departments. In 2016, Arizona created a $10 million fund from which the state can quickly repay local cooperators and then request reimbursement from the federal government and decreased the average reimbursement from 86 to 17 days. Ducey says although steps have been taken to improve the process, problems persist in receiving funds from the federal government. Governor Ducey says for this reason, he is reaching out to Secretary Perdue and Secretary Zinke to request their cooperation in establishing a process for the quick repayment of outstanding funds both now and going forward. Currently, Arizona has spent all $10 million of its fund in payment to local fire departments and is awaiting repayment from the federal government. Having exhausted the fund, the state finds itself unable to repay local cooperators or to request reimbursement from the federal government for additional costs incurred.
