It’s beginning to sound like a broken record — nearly a year after Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina, Haywood County government has received only 4% of the money it is owed from the federal government, leaving officials frustrated and taxpayers effectively footing the bill.
“The next is update on FEMA projects and reimbursement progress,” Chair Kevin Ensley said to open a discussion on the matter at the Sept. 15 Haywood County Commission meeting. “Our finance director, Kristian Owen, is here to give us the bad news on that.”
Owen told Haywood County commissioners during the meeting that while FEMA has approved some small projects, the largest and costliest reimbursements remain tied up in a bureaucratic maze…