In a contentious hearing Monday afternoon, lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, Subcommittee on Hurricane Response, sought to learn more about how state funds have been used during previous storms.
On the other end of the questions was Laura Hogshead, Chief Operating Officer for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, and Pryor Gibson, the Deputy Legislative Counsel for the Governor’s Office.
At issue were budget shortfalls and the speed of relief during Hurricane Matthew and Florence, all while the state is only in the beginning stages of what will be a years-long recovery effort following Hurricane Helene .
“NCORR is too far over its skies. It does not have enough money to finish the projects in its queue or the affordable housing. It’s pretty straightforward. That’s the reason we went to you and your staff before the last session and said we needed $175 million, and that’s the reason we met with your staff and continued to give them the numbers in a spread sheet of where everything needs to go so that everybody knows what’s happening and what’s needed,” said Gibson, following a question from Sen. Brent Jackson, a Republican who represents District 9.