OPINION

By: Dee Ann Haney
On Monday evening, I participated in a forum for the City Commissioner-at-Large race in Texas City and wanted to elaborate on Round 1 of Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funding. One of my duties as City Commissioner is to represent Texas City on the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). H-GAC is the regional organization through which local governments consider issues and cooperate in solving area-wide
problems. Through H-GAC, local governments also initiate efforts in anticipating and preventing problems, saving public funds. H-GAC represents thirteen counties and is the largest regional council of government (COG) in the State of Texas and third largest in the United States. The State of Texas Plan for Disaster Recovery: Hurricane Harvey – Round 1 was released on Monday, April 9th with a fourteen-day comment period that ended on April 26th. The General Land Office (GLO) held no public hearings and many were not aware of the report being released or the ability to provide input. Five billion in relief money was awarded to the State of Texas. Houston and Harris County received $1.15 billion each and the H-GAC Allocation (remainder) is approximately $710 million. The distribution will be $710 million with $476 million for homeowner assistance, $111 million for local buyouts/acquisitions, and $130 million for local infrastructure. Currently, the Federal requirement is that 70% of the funds benefit low to moderate income earners. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and our congressional delegation requested a waiver and unfortunately, it was denied. An LMI similar to Ike which – which was 55% – could still ensure a majority of the funds benefit LMI households while also providing the flexibility our communities need on infrastructure projects.
For example – a sewer plant repair project that benefits 55% LMI households is more likely to be needed than one where 70% of the households are LMI. If the current requirement stands, many infrastructure projects would not qualify. Low-to moderate income is defined as 80% or less of the area income for a household. It is also a sliding scale based on household size and is determined by HUD and presented at the county level. For example, Harris County will have a different LMI dollar amount than Galveston County. The most recent Housing and Urban Development (HUD) LMI limits for Galveston County are that a household of one cannot earn more than $41,900 annually, and a household of four cannot earn more than $59,900 to be considered LMI. The housing program is proposed to be administered by the GLO,
but Galveston County officials have already requested that GC be allowed to run our program. This was done successfully after Hurricane
Ike and can be done again. Texas City fared better than most in the County due to the seawall protection levee and rainwater pumps but if you were one of the 1,400 homes affected, it doesn’t really matter. Hurricane Harvey was a historic storm with 60% of those affected
being located outside the 500-year floodplain. People all across our County were touched and how much someone earns shouldn’t
determine the amount of assistance they can receive. To me, the more significant issue is the amount of money the other counties
are being allotted. It is not equitable with Harris County and the City of Houston getting 2.3 billion. What will the end result be? Only time will tell. We do need to get this corrected before the second round of Harvey relief funds of 4.7 billion is awarded. The draft of the State of Texas Plan for Disaster Recovery: Hurricane Harvey – Round 1 can be accessed at http://www.glo.texas.gov/the-glo/public-information/notices/files/action-plan-finaldraft-1-18-18.pdf