North Charlotte Today

Senator Thom Tillis has expressed concerns over Governor Roy Cooper's request for the North Carolina General Assembly to address a $175 million budget shortfall in the state's disaster recovery efforts. The funds, initially provided by the federal government for Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence recovery, are now insufficient according to recent assessments.

For six years, Tillis has criticized the Cooper Administration for its slow progress in utilizing these funds. In May, he sought clarification from NCORR Director Laura Hogshead regarding the rebuilding process. However, Hogshead's June response did not mention any funding shortfall, stating instead that "NCORR stands prepared to complete the homes of its current applicants and to respond quickly to any future disasters."

A 2022 report by the Office of Inspector General highlighted that NCORR could not assure proper expenditure of $2.5 million out of $5.4 million reviewed in federal assistance.

In light of these issues, Senator Tillis issued a statement condemning what he described as fiscal mismanagement: "For the last six years, I have been warning that Governor Cooper and NCORR were dropping the ball on distributing disaster relief to victims. NCORR's last-second announcement of a staggering $175 million shortfall for Matthew and Florence recovery confirms those concerns were justified."

Tillis further criticized the administration's failure to provide timely relief: "It is scandalous that the Cooper Administration has failed thousands of North Carolina families... Instead of working to actually fix this problem, it seems the Governor's office has always been more focused on attacking anyone who drops a hint of criticism over their failure to get assistance to disaster victims."

He emphasized that this situation complicates efforts by North Carolina's Congressional leaders to secure additional federal aid: "All this makes it much more difficult for North Carolina's Congressional leaders to secure needed federal assistance for Helene victims when our colleagues look at the Cooper Administration’s failure..."

Looking ahead, Tillis called for systemic changes: "The next Governor must turn the page on the systemic incompetence and mismanagement... While the NCGA is right to provide NCORR with some funding... there must be serious systematic changes..."