GRAYSON COUNTY, Tex. -- North Texas officials and residents still recovering from last week’s floods are hoping the President will declare several counties a disaster area.

The declaration would bring in federal funding to help with relief efforts in Cooke and Grayson Counties.

Grayson County Precinct 3 assistant foreman Audie Hall says he and his crew have worked around the clock to help make conditions on county roads safe.

Southwestern Grayson County was one of the hardest hit parts of North Texas due to last week’s floods. On Tuesday morning, officials from FEMA were on hand to survey the damage with the goal of getting federal funding for the area. The damage is not hard to believe at all."

Over the last week, precinct three officials have spent over $50,000 on everything from man-power to materials to, what Hall says, “patch stuff up to make the roads passable."

Those costs have brought the county to $17,000 over budget.

That’s why they say federal funding is so vital to the county’s recovery.

On Wednesday, officials with FEMA conducted a public preliminary damage assessment, which is designed to take into account all the costs incurred by the county to repair damaged county roads and bridges.

Once they have compiled the data, FEMA will submit the finding to President Bush and wait to see if he declares North Texas a federal disaster area.

That decision could take a couple of more weeks, but if the declaration is made both public and individual entities must apply with FEMA to receive the money.

If approved it would arrive within 60 to 90 days after the declaration, a long time to wait for workers in devastated areas.

Officials with FEMA say they don’t know when or if President Bush will declare the region a disaster area, but the quicker they gather the information, the faster counties like Grayson can get back on the right track.