Abbott hands out advance of more than $135M to city, county

he was aiming for a “land speed record” on recovery from Tropical Storm Harvey’s devastation, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday handed out more than $135 million in advances from the federal government to Harris County and the city of Houston, the first chunk of what officials hope will be a sustained, expedited response to one of the worst natural disasters the country has ever seen.

The city received $91.2 million and the county $44.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency via Abbott, money they said would be critical to the gargantuan clean-up effort underway, as well as spurring their ability to address critical housing needs after 136,000 homes and other structures in Harris County were flooded during Harvey’s onslaught.

“We have a need for speed,” Abbott said at a news conference at the Harris County Office of Emergency Management. “We want to rebuild communities as swiftly as possible.”

While the spotlight to date has been on local rescue and recovery, as well as FEMA’s aid outreach, Friday’s news conference provided a glimpse into the role the state will play in the rebuilding effort after Harvey.

Abbott said the funds provided Friday were the first chunk of a “new model” of more quickly delivering advances from the federal government as local governments like the city and county focus on the boots-on-theground recovery.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he and legislative

leaders could consider, without a special session, moving funds from the 2019 budget into the current budget year to help with recovery.

Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, who is overseeing the Harvey recovery for the state, said Austin’s role was to “clear the path” for local recovery efforts by easing regulations. Abbott, he said, already has removed restrictions on bidding and contracting for mosquito control for areas affected by Harvey, which came ashore as a hurricane northeast of Corpus Christi on Aug. 25 before being downgraded to a tropical storm that poured almost 52 inches of rain on the Houston area.

Centers up by Monday

Sharp said the state was working with FEMA on a way to quickly repair flood victims’ homes — a program in which contractors would be sent into affected homes to conduct permanent, structural repairs so displaced residents could move back in.

He said FEMA still was working out how to suspend some of its regulations to implement such a program. He could not immediately provide a timeline for when such an initiative could be implemented.

Sharp said the first step was to set up disaster recovery centers — fixed and roving sites where FEMA and other agency representatives could help each flood victim with recovery needs. That would include the new housing repair program, Sharp said.

He said he expected recovery centers to be up by Monday evening. The centers likely will be a combination of “mega centers,” sites in offices or other buildings, and roving “mobile” centers that can reach the county’s farthest pockets.

Abbott said a representative from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be embedded with the state during recovery efforts.

As to whether the state would commit any additional funds beyond the federal advances and local expenditures, Abbott said the state has spent $220 million for emergency responders and military response, and that more spending is a “matter of cash flow management.”

The money given Friday was far short of what local leaders had asked for earlier this week.

Mayor Sylvester Turner had sent a letter to Abbott Monday asking for state and federal resources outlining the “unprecedented” nature of the storm that put an “extreme economic strain on the city and its residents.”

Turner asked for advance funding of $300 million for debris removal and shoring up public infrastructure, and to establish at least 15 to 20 disaster recovery centers. He also asked Abbott to provide $60 million in state relief emergency funds, request FEMA to move quickly on a re-housing program and clear other regulations.

‘Pushing the pace’

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett sent a separate letter asking for $75 million in advance funding, half of a preliminary estimate of $150 million for debris removal and “emergency protective measures.”

Turner said Friday further money would be needed, and that Friday’s allocation was “just the beginning.”

Turner said getting less than asked for would not slow the city’s cleanup effort.

“We are pushing the pace,” he said.

The funds and the state effort, Emmett said, would help the county help those most in need: “It’s these individuals that need to get back in their houses and getting the disaster recovery centers set up so that people who are out of their homes, away from their school districts, get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.”