Village of Godfrey Board of Trustees
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GODFREY – Godfrey may dedicate millions in emergency reserve funds to combat flooding affecting local homeowners pending future village approval.
Godfrey resident Kaitlyn Chapman asked trustees at the Sept. 15, 2026 Village Board meeting what it would take to get a plan in place to address flooding in the village. Citing previous claims from Mayor Mike McCormick that the village “is in great financial shape,” she questioned why funds placed in reserves for emergencies are going unused as homes repeatedly flood in Godfrey.
Chapman said after the July 25, 2026 flood, her home incurred $10,000 in damages that her homeowner’s insurance would not cover. With multiple disabled individuals in the home, Chapman said they have no way of recouping the money or selling the flood-damaged house.
“How much is it going to take to get an answer and a plan in action?” Chapman asked. “There’s families suffering, there’s families losing their homes.
“When I’m hearing there are funds, but they’re being put back for emergency funding, there’s always other resources for emergency funding – there’s no reason families should be suffering in the meantime. There’s just no reason for it.”
She and Trustee Rick Lauschke cited a list of capital projects, including stormwater improvements, dating back to 1994 which the village has yet to catch up on. Lauschke suggested immediately dedicating more funding towards addressing the backlog and fixing the flooding problem.
“In my opinion, we’re not putting an adequate amount of money each year to catch up on these projects,” Lauschke said. “What this lady’s going through is unconsionable – people have 10 inches of water intheir basement, we need to get more on top of this issue.”
Lauschke suggested starting by allocating $3 million from the village’s reserves and contributing more money each year from the village’s capital budget into stormwater projects. He said the village has spent much more on road projects than stormwater infrastructure and would like to see more balanced funding for both issues going forward.
Trustee Sarah Woodman said two of her own family members who live in Godfrey have experienced flooding at their homes to varying degrees. She raised concerns that young families will be warned against buying homes in Godfrey if the village cannot combat the continuous flooding.
Lauschke supported placing an ordinance on the agenda for the next Village Board meeting to allocate up to $3 million from the village’s reserve funding to address the issue. Village Attorney Bryan Dooling said an unused $1.6 million has already been allocated for this year, but said he would look into amending the budgeted amount to $3 million for the board’s consideration at their next meeting.
A full recording of the Sept. 15, 2026 Godfrey Village Board meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
