A Texas county devastated by deadly flooding earlier this month rejected federal funds in 2021 that could have helped install a flood warning system, with local officials and residents arguing they didn't want to be "bought" by the Biden administration.
As far back as 2016, officials considered a $1 million siren and gauge system to warn both locals and the flood-prone region's many visitors, the Texas Tribune reported. But despite multiple meetings and FEMA grant applications, funding efforts repeatedly stalled, first due to missing mitigation plans, then due to shifting priorities after Hurricane Harvey.
In 2021, the Biden administration awarded Kerr County $10.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which could have been used for flood prevention infrastructure. But commissioners, facing political pressure from conservative residents, opted not to pursue a warning system.
At an April 2022 meeting, one citizen called the White House a "criminal treasonous communist government," urging the county to reject the money altogether. Others echoed that sentiment, saying they didn't want the federal government's help.
"We don't want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much," a resident said. "We'd like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money."
While the county ultimately kept the funds, they allocated the majority, about $8 million, to sheriff's department upgrades and public employee stipends.
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Just $600,000 went to staffing and community amenities. No money was set aside for a flood alert system. On July 4, 2025, the region was hit by flash flooding that raised the Guadalupe River by over 32 feet, killing more than 100 people. Now, survivors and local leaders are demanding accountability.
Ingram City Council member Raymond Howard, who spent the night of the flood knocking on neighbors' doors, has pledged to install a local siren himself. "It's the thing I could do even if it's the last thing I do," said Howard, who is battling stage four cancer.
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