Audit finds state’s storm relief effort disastrous. (NOW they tell us.)

Posted on by

It’s really kind of *funny* what you learn after an election and the counting of all the votes.  The political establishment has twisted itself into pretzels to protect FEMA and state officials from criticism over their disaster relief efforts.  Just weeks after the November vote, we’ve learned that the state relief effort to clean up after Hurricane Helene is really one big honkin’ mess.

This month, the state auditor released a report finding problems with the state’s administration of recovery efforts from a previous storm:

[…] In September 2018, Hurricane Florence made landfall bringing high winds, dangerous storm

surge, and record rainfall that caused historic flooding and numerous fatalities throughout

North Carolina.

In October 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the Hurricane Florence

Emergency Response Act (Response Act) in response to the effects of Hurricane Florence

on the State of North Carolina.

The Response Act established the Hurricane Florence Disaster Recovery Fund to provide

the necessary and appropriate relief and assistance from the effects of Hurricane Florence.

The Fund is maintained as a special fund administered by the North Carolina Department of

Public Safety (DPS) to carry out the provisions of the law and subsequent acts needed in

response to Hurricane Florence.

Through a series of legislation, the State appropriated approximately $942.4 million to state

agencies, institutions of higher education, and a non-profit foundation through the Hurricane

Florence Disaster Recovery Fund as presented in the following illustration:

Here’s what got discovered:

According to the audit, DPS officials claimed they were not granted the authority by the legislature to deal with the above two issues.

SO, we find all this out AFTER the November 2024 election AND Hurricane Helene’s assault on Western North Carolina.  A personnel change has been made at the top of the state’s storm recovery office.  (The director has been replaced by former legislator and renowned political fixer Pryor Gibson. )

Is it only just a matter of time until we read an audit like this — or worse — dealing with the ongoing effort to clean up Western North Carolina in the wake of Helene?