All right, the flood aid package has been approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Mike Easley. We appreciate it. But we will take from this ordeal lessons both good and bad, and a bit of a bad taste for how the real needs of mountain citizens became politicized before any money was actually approved.

On Feb. 25 Easley signed a $247.5 million aid package that will help homeowners, businesses and local governments who are still in need of help from September’s devastation caused by hurricanes Ivan and Frances. The best part of the package is the no-strings-attached grants for businesses and business loans that will carry no interest and have no payments due for three years. Small businesses hurt in the flood have suffered more than homeowners, who were able to recoup losses from FEMA.

Local governments will also get millions, and a new flood mapping system will be developed. That should help prevent future devastation as development continues in the mountains and older maps have proven unreliable

In the end, mountain lawmakers worked together and held firm. The votes — three in all — in the General Assembly for the package was unanimous. The concept of WNC lawmakers forming a kind of power block in the legislature could bode well for the future.

But the process wasn’t a smooth one. Originally many western lawmakers had wanted a special session, but legislative leaders balked.

That was the first sign that perhaps Western North Carolina was going to have a fight on its hands to get what was needed. At this juncture it was decided that hurricane relief would be the first item on the legislative agenda. A plan was quickly developed to enact a special half-cent sales tax that would stay on the books for six months and then sunset after money was raised.

This was shot down, but this time it was by Republican lawmakers representing the mountains. They argued that perhaps this new tax would never go away once it was on the books, while fiscal conservatives of both sides of aisle pointed out that there was money in the state’s rainy day fund to pay for the relief package.

Word began circulating around Raleigh about this same time that Easley would propose in his budget to keep on the books another half-cent sales tax set to expire in June. This further eroded support for the hurricane relief package that relied on the sales tax, and so the package fell by the wayside and was never voted on.

This preceded delay number three, which was Easley’s disagreement with how much relief was needed. After a package unanimously passed the General Assembly for the $247 million, the governor wavered. According to his office, only about $61 million in additional aid was needed over the $90 million already contributed by the state. There was rumor of a veto, but ultimately western lawmakers rolled out a plan that will provide $157 million above the original $90 million. If there is any unspent money, it will revert back to the state treasury and won’t be spent on bogus projects.

So the aid is on the way, and our legislators can be thanked for their unity and hard work. But excuse those of us in the west for not jumping up and down in total joy. In the end, perhaps, we got more than we bargained for — storm aid and strong dose of politics.