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Low-income city residents who live or work within the area that was evacuated during the fire at the Winston Weaver Co. fertilizer plant will be able to apply for reimbursement of their expenses starting March 9 under a program the City Council approved Monday.

Residents can be reimbursed for hotel bills, lost wages and other bona fide expenses related to the fire. 

On Monday, the City Council allocated $1 million for the reimbursement program and agreed to hire the Experiment in Self Reliance Inc. to process applications and payments.

ESR will start accepting applications during an application fair from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, at the Fairgrounds Home & Garden Building, 421 27th St., Winston-Salem. Additional application dates will be announced as the details are finalized.

Eligible residents should bring receipts and other documentation of their expenses or lost wages to the application fair.

The reimbursement program is for Winston-Salem residents who live or work within the evacuation area and have a household income that is 80 percent or less of area median income, which varies by household size and is $55,100 for a family of four. 

Only expenses incurred from 9 p.m. Jan. 31 through noon Feb. 4 will be reimbursed. 

Households can be reimbursed for hotel bills (four nights maximum), meals and other bona fide expenses related to the fire, such as replacing air filters in their houses. Those who lost wages due to the fire, either because they did not have access to tools or equipment that was in their home during the evacuation, or because they work for a business within the evacuation area that was shut down during the fire, can be reimbursed for lost wages.

The city will reimburse each household for no more than $1,000, provided that residents can document their expenses with hotel receipts and receipts for other related expenses. Lost wages must be documented with pay statements that show their pay rate.  

The $1,000 limit is a maximum reimbursement available per household, no matter the actual expenses, and regardless of how many people live at that address. Households that incurred expenses of less than $1,000 will be reimbursed for their actual expenses.

Residents who do not have documentation can be reimbursed up to $300 per household provided they sign a form attesting to their expenses.

Residents are not eligible for the city reimbursement program if they have already been reimbursed through other organizations, such as Love Out Loud.