The last time North Carolina had a state budget, Tropical Storm Helene hadn’t happened yet. But, earlier this month, legislators on both sides of the NC General Assembly agreed on a budget and the governor signed it into law. Roughly $700 million of the $34 billion budget is directed toward Helene recovery throughout Western North Carolina.
This money comes at an important time, as the two-year anniversary of the storm approaches in the fall and there are still many needs to be met in the region.
It’s the sixth piece of legislation that funds recovery in the western part of the state to go through the General Assembly.
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At the signing of the budget, Gov. Josh Stein said this budget gets “a lot of things right.” Still, shortfalls persist between his initial request for recovery needs that his office released in March and the current budget.
Legislators passed a series of smaller budgets last year, mainly to fund recovery efforts for Helene and last year’s Tropical Depression Chantal, as well as address other needs like Medicaid programs. In the interim, legislators from both sides of the aisle were frustrated over the lack of a spending plan.
About $706 million of this new budget goes to Helene recovery, while Gov. Stein’s March request totalled to be about $790 million. Some of the things left out are smaller expenditures, like funding sustainable energy projects and emergency radio towers. Private road repairs and funding for flood gauges in the new budget were significantly lower than requested.
In addition to funding from the budget, other state agencies are putting millions toward long-term recovery.
On July 17, the governor announced that, in partnership with the state Department of Environmental Quality, $44 million will go to restoring water and wastewater systems that still need to be repaired after Helene. This means that the state has surpassed $1 billion in funding for water after the storm.
“We are working to ensure every North Carolinian has clean, reliable water every time they turn on their tap,” Gov. Stein said in a statement. “These new projects will make towns’ water systems more resilient, protect residents from chemicals, and make North Carolina’s communities safer, stronger and healthier for years to come.”
The Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina estimates that Helene cost almost $60 billion. As of now, North Carolina has put roughly $4.4 billion towards recovery efforts and received $3.3 billion from the federal government. Most of the funding for the former is from FEMA, which can’t fund initial disaster recovery efforts, but can reimburse local governments for what they have paid to repair damages. The agency’s public assistance program is not designed to provide immediate relief, so there’s still billions of dollars of federal funding yet to be disbursed across the region.
Last month, Stein travelled to Washington to advocate for $10 billion in federal funding towards recovery. He has said more still remains to be done in terms of recovering from the storm on the national level and the federal government certainly has more to fund in the region, especially in terms of reimbursements.
Some members of the legislature, including Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, agree with the sentiment that this budget does a lot for Helene recovery, but no amount feels like it would be enough. Nevertheless, the money is flowing.
“I’m happy that the legislature continues to be committed to Helene recovery work,” Mayfield said.
Breaking down Helene recovery funding
The budget allocated $450 million in state funds to match federal recovery program requirements. This means North Carolina is meeting the requirement of sharing costs with the federal government.
This budget also put $30 million toward the repair of private bridges in the region. Because the state government owns most of the roads in North Carolina, which is unusual, a number of private roads that were destroyed during the storm have been left without funds to rebuild. Tens of millions also go to rebuilding dams and flood gauges that were damaged during the storm, which will bolster flood resiliency in the region.
Another $30 million will go to volunteer groups and nonprofits that have been instrumental in long-term Helene recovery. Temporary relocation assistance is also prioritized in this budget. RENEW NC, which is a program through the state Department of Commerce, has been providing families whose homes were destroyed during the storm with temporary and permanent housing.
About $40 million is going towards temporary housing for families awaiting the rebuilding of their homes through the program. The initiative is also funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery grant, which has been a stronghold for economic recovery dollars after Helene.
Tens of millions go towards conservation in the region. Blue Ridge Public Radio reported that a historic amount of money will allow wildlife to cross the road safely. This has proven to be an issue before Helene and vehicular collisions with wild animals have been common in the region.
About $87 million will support economic revitalization in the region. That includes $67 million for the Hurricane Helene Local Government Capital Grant Program, which will allow funding to go to local governments and volunteer fire departments in the region that still have repairs to complete.
Gov. Stein spent last week in Western North Carolina. He came to Asheville and gifted Velma Chapman, an Asheville native, with keys to her brand-new home, which was built through the RENEW program. Her old one was destroyed during the storm.
His recovery office for the region, which is sometimes called GROW, hosted an advisory committee meeting for current recovery needs in the region on July 17 in Boone.
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and the agency’s director, Mike Calabria were at the latest meeting, along with other state and regional leaders who spoke about the region’s long-term recovery plan and how the new funds from this long-awaited budget fit in the picture.
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