North Carolina officials overseeing recovery efforts in both western and eastern parts of the state are urgently requesting billions of dollars in additional funding from state and federal sources, The Associated Press reports.
They testified to state lawmakers this week that the funds are needed to address ongoing damage from past hurricanes.
Officials from Democratic Governor Josh Stein’s administration told a legislative committee Wednesday that western North Carolina will need billions more to recover from the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene last year. The region sustained approximately $60 billion in damages. The Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina cited a $10 billion gap between what the state has requested from the federal government and what it has received. The Stein administration has asked that additional funding for western North Carolina be included in any future federal funding bills for the southern California wildfires.
The following day, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) requested $217 million from the legislature to complete construction on over 1,100 homes in eastern North Carolina. These homes were damaged by Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018. NCORR has faced financial challenges, including a reported budget shortfall last year, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers.
Jonathan Krebs, an advisor for the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, emphasized the need for more state funds, stating that while his office is reliant on federal reimbursements, additional state funding would allow it to operate more effectively outside of that system. He also noted that further delays in federal funding are anticipated. Krebs identified debris removal, housing recovery, economic revitalization for impacted towns, and repairs to roads and bridges as the four critical needs in western North Carolina. He said that housing projects could largely be completed within four years, but that road and bridge repairs may take a decade.
Lawmakers drew a contrast between the recovery plan in western North Carolina and NCORR’s nearly decade-long work in eastern North Carolina. Republican lawmakers have stated they intend to manage western North Carolina’s recovery more effectively and efficiently.
NCORR leaders, including former chief operating officer Laura Hogshead, have previously attributed the office’s financial issues to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising infrastructure costs. However, NCORR leader Pryor Gibson acknowledged “the mistakes” in the office’s past management of housing recovery during Thursday’s hearing. Gibson detailed ongoing struggles with retaining a reliable contractor base due to insufficient funding. He described the situation as “double jeopardy” and emphasized that dependable, not piecemeal, funding was needed.
Currently, slightly more than half of the remaining 1,179 homes are under construction, with the other half awaiting construction. Gibson estimated that all remaining home construction could be completed by the end of 2025 if the office receives adequate funding.
