Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is urging President Donald Trump to reverse his denial of the state’s major disaster declaration request, a move that blocked federal aid to communities hit by the February snowstorm, in an appeal filed last week.
In a letter dated July 31, Healey highlighted the severity of the impact from the storm that pummelled southeastern Massachusetts, including the Island, which saw conservative estimates of around 20 inches of snow alongside widespread power outages, hurricane-force winds, and toppled trees. Some parts of the state were hit even harder with record-breaking precipitation, like the 41 inches of snow that accumulated in Fall River.
Healey wrote in her appeal that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed the state’s incurred around $45 million in “eligible disaster costs” following the storm, but the Trump administration denied Massachusetts’ request for a major disaster declaration last month.
“This February, Massachusetts experienced one of the worst winter storms we’ve seen in decades,” Healey said in a Friday press release. “Our first responders, public works crews and local communities worked around the clock to keep people safe, and FEMA validated that Massachusetts exceeded the threshold for federal disaster assistance.”
As the state waits for a resolution, Healey wrote in the appeal that Massachusetts made $100 million in emergency relief available for municipalities across the whole winter season. She also argued that snow is an “eligible event” for a major disaster declaration.
Disaster assistance, whether from state or federal funding, is allocated to municipalities through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. If Healey’s appeal is successful, it would open up federal disaster aid to towns across the state, including on the Vineyard. In July, Dukes County Manager Martina Thornton said “virtually all” towns submitted for reimbursements.
Even with some potential state assistance available, Vineyard towns incurred hefty costs to clear roads of snow and repair damages from the storms. While the county incurred relatively lower costs for post-storm recovery, $12,000, there were Vineyard towns that accumulated six-figure expenses, like Edgartown’s $140,000 cleanup costs.
Oak Bluffs was one of the highest at $188,791 in “response costs,” and Wendy Brough, the town administrator, said the town plans to seek state reimbursement through Massachusetts’s Winter Recovery Assistance Program, which can be used to cover expenses associated with responding to the blizzard, such as contracted services, personnel expenses, and highway operations.
“Funding is distributed statewide using a ‘fair share’ formula, with $80 million available to municipalities,” Brough wrote in an email. “Oak Bluffs is expected to be eligible for reimbursement of up to approximately $90,000.”
Smaller Island towns were also not spared from high costs.
“The Town of West Tisbury spent around $120,000 for snow [and] ice in response to the blizzard,” Chelsea Joiner, West Tisbury town accountant and finance director, wrote in an email.
Kevin Devine, chair of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head tribal council, said “We didn’t receive anything nor request” federal aid after the blizzard.
Healey admonished Trump, and said he “shouldn’t play politics with disaster relief.”
“Our communities did everything that was asked of them. They shouldn’t be left to shoulder these extraordinary costs alone,” she said in the statement.
Trump has been accused of playing politics with disaster relief after a significantly higher number of Democratic-led states were denied disaster aid compared to states led by Republicans. Three other states impacted by the February blizzard — Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York — were also denied federal aid, and Politico reported last week that Trump overrode agencies’ evaluations that these areas met federal thresholds for disaster aid.
A major disaster declaration can provide a wide range of support for states that were overwhelmed by an emergency, although whether a declaration is actually made is at the discretion of the president.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, did not address the allegations of the Trump administration playing politics, instead claiming the president “provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any administration has before him.”
“The president responds to each request for federal assistance under the Stafford Act with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” Jackson said in a statement to The Times. “The Trump administration remains committed to empowering and working with State and local governments to invest in their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and recovery less prolonged.”
Healey said in the appeal that Massachusetts has exhausted state and local resources to respond to the storm. She noted that the state’s 2025-2026 snow and ice budget was $85 million, $65 million of which was spent by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) to “maintain state roadway networks and to support municipalities.”
“That $65 million was well short of [the] $180 million DOT spent on snow and ice removal for the whole season,” Healey wrote. “For the February 22-23 blizzard alone, DOT spent $26 million, but we have requested only $8.5 million of that as a reimbursable expense in the submitted declaration request. Cities and towns across the state are facing the same crippling overrun.”
Budgetary overruns were faced by municipalities across the state this spring, including three towns on Martha’s Vineyard. The overruns came from a confluence of factors, including inflation and overall higher costs, and towns looked to property tax hikes to cover the gaps.
Since the blizzard, Vineyard emergency managers have pushed for bolstered coordination across the Island when emergency situations arise. An Island-wide emergency coordinator is under consideration.
Dawn Brantley, director of MEMA, said in a statement the state is “well-equipped to manage winter storms,” but the February storm was different because of the “unprecedented costs” incurred by the state.
“Federal disaster assistance is intended for exactly these situations, helping offset extraordinary response costs so communities aren’t forced to shoulder the financial burden of a historic event on their own,” Brantley said in the statement.
So if you vote for Trump, you are voting for higher costs for the Island