'I'm just tired of excuses.' GOP slams slow hurricane recovery with an eye on next storm.

The state's Emergency Management agency issued the first hurricane recovery payment from a $236.5 million federal grant received last year, but the agency's leader didn't provide a timeline for when the money will be fully distributed.

Emergency Management director Mike Sprayberry appeared before a House committee Monday morning to answer questions about the slow response to Hurricane Matthew.

"We are at the point now that we are going to be seeing some real progress — it just took us awhile to get here," Sprayberry said, noting that the state expects to ultimately spend about $1.72 billion in response to the October 2016 storm and has spent $632 million from multiple sources.

While legislators from both parties voiced support for Sprayberry's leadership — he's served in the role under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and his GOP predecessor, Pat McCrory — Republicans on the House disaster relief committee continued to criticize the slow response.

Rep. John Bell, a Wayne County Republican and chairman of the committee, showed photos of condemned houses in his district and shared stories of constituents still awaiting help.

"I'm mad, I'm upset, and we can do better," he said. "We've got to fix this ... I'm just tired of excuses."

In recent weeks, attention has been focused on the $236.5 million Community Development Block Grant funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is intended to help residents repair and rebuild their homes — something many residents of Eastern North Carolina have still been unable to do 18 months after the storm.

Sprayberry said the first check from that fund was delivered last week to a homeowner in Robeson County.

Applicants seeking the funding must complete an extensive eight-step process to prove their eligibility under federal regulations, he said. "I don't know that I have the power to compress it," he added.

Asked during a news conference after the committee meeting when all funding will be allocated, Sprayberry said "there's no way you can ascertain when that would be."

Several legislators cited the emotional stress caused by the lengthy recovery process. Rep. Brenden Jones, a Columbus County Republican, said one of his constituents is "now going through a divorce because of the stress that they're under. He's losing his family because no action has been taken to get him and his family back home."

Legislators on the committee said they want to improve the funding distribution process so that recovery moves faster in future storms. "We can't be doing this same process the next time it happens," said Rep. Chuck McGrady, a Henderson County Republican. "Bottom line is we can't wait 500-some-odd days before families are getting money to re-establish their lives."

Sprayberry said his agency agrees, but changes at the federal level could be needed. "If you will allow me and my team to perform that analysis, and make the necessary improvements, we can do better," he said.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 3:10 PM with the headline "'I'm just tired of excuses.' GOP slams slow hurricane recovery with an eye on next storm.."