Top NC GOP budget writer from Helene-ravaged area says more funding is on the way

Fully recovering from the aftermath of Helene’s path through Western North Carolina is going to take a lot of state and federal funding, along with support from the private sector.

That was clear in the immediate aftermath of the 2024 storm.

And the state is preparing to act once more.

Sen. Ralph Hise, a Spruce Pine Republican who represents multiple counties impacted by Helene, and a chief budget writer, said lawmakers were “finalizing some package” for Helene funding needs.

That remark came during a Governor’s Advisory Committee on WNC Recovery — which is a bipartisan group Hise is a part of. It was established by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein on his first day in office to advise on Helene recovery.

Lawmakers in the GOP-led legislature were supposed to have passed a budget by last July but failed to do so. But GOP legislative leaders have said they expect to have a budget soon, potentially by the end of this month.

Hise said that while a Helene package was being worked out, he did not yet know if it would be included in the budget or whether it would come out as a separate bill.

The “biggest portion” of the Helene package being worked on is the state match for the federal government, which is about $450 million currently, Hise said. That figure is a “continuing number” because if more federal money comes in, the state will be required to put more money in too, he said.

Helene causes billions in damage

The storm caused about $60 billion in damage in North Carolina in 2024. So far, the state has put about $2.4 billion in state money for Helene recovery needs across numerous bills since the storm, said Sen. Kevin Corbin, co-chair of the advisory committee and a Republican who represents numerous Helene-impacted counties.

The state has also redirected another $2 billion in funds from other agencies to Western NC. The federal government, meanwhile, has put out about $8.3 billion in funding, he said.

That figure has since changed, with the state set to receive $908 million in emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help repair roads and bridges, Stein interjected.

“But your point is right. It’s about two to one. The state has done about half as much as what the feds have done, which is a remarkable declaration of commitment by the state of North Carolina.” Stein said.

Corbin and Stein earlier this month met with members of the state’s congressional delegation to request more federal money. Stein is requesting about $10.15 billion from Congress — $3 billion less than his request last September — according to a letter Stein sent to members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, The News & Observer previously reported. Federal funding has so far covered just around 14% of estimated recovery costs, Stein wrote in his letter.

Determining state and federal recovery funding

Stein also called on the General Assembly in March to spend $792 million more for recovery needs from Helene. Of that, $452 million was for the state to unlock federal disaster recovery funds that require a matching contribution, and to pay upfront for repairs and recovery projects that the Federal Emergency Management Agency can later reimburse.

The second-largest chunk — $230 million — was largely designated for repairing private roads and bridges, with the majority of public roads and bridges reopened, though many still need further repairs, and to provide grants and financial support to local governments, which have faced delays in receiving federal reimbursements.

That interplay with federal funding is one of the biggest challenges in determining state funding to be provided, per Hise.

FEMA is a payer of last resort — meaning it only pays when nobody else has. That means if the state puts money toward a project and FEMA later decides to fund that same project, FEMA will reduce its payment by what the state has already paid, Hise said.

That makes determining state funding a challenge, particularly for local projects — such as water and sewer projects.

“It really has been this real challenge of, well, we’re waiting on FEMA on this, we’re waiting on FEMA on that,” Hise said.

He said because of this, the state is continuing to provide a lot of its funding in broad grant programs. He also said they’re looking into the remaining needs for some programs they’ve already had out — such as for private road and bridge repairs and reconstruction — where applications have exceeded the available funds.

Corbin said later that that funding for private roads and bridges could amount to another $100 million.

“I think it’s important to let everybody know, just as I said with the federal match, I don’t know anyone who thinks this is the last bill for hurricane disaster…and so it’s kind of trying to see what needs to be done at this moment to kind of meet the timeline that puts us through the next bill coming to the General Assembly,” Hise said.

Remaining needs for housing

Forrest Gilliam, legislative director of the Governor’s Recovery Office of Western North Carolina (a state agency created by Stein for Helene recovery), provided a rundown of the $10.1 billion federal request, which spans housing, infrastructure, economic recovery and more.

One part of the request is for about $3.1 billion to repair and rebuild damaged homes and replace lost housing stock.

It’s estimated that about 2,100 families who would qualify for the Renew NC single-family housing program would not be able to be served with the current federal appropriations, Gilliam said.

In North Carolina, Renew NC is tasked with managing long-term rebuilding and repairs using federal money. A state dashboard shows 2,674 active applications under its single-family housing program, with 80 projects showing up as having construction completed and several hundred others across different stages of the process.

Matt Calabria, the director of GROW NC, told reporters after the advisory committee meeting that via partnership with volunteer organizations, over 1,000 homes have been repaired or rebuilt.

Asked about the plan for those potentially not eligible and when affected applicants would be notified, he deferred to Renew NC on timelines but added that “I know that they have worked to be very communicative with applicants as to where they fall.”

He said the state has tried to stretch funds but that the “federal government has the greatest ability to cover the outstanding housing need.”

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

The News & Observer

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi is a politics reporter for the News & Observer. She reports on health care, including mental health and Medicaid expansion, hurricane recovery efforts and lobbying. Luciana previously worked as a Roy W. Howard Fellow at Searchlight New Mexico, an investigative news organization.