Matt Calabria (left), who leads the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, and Jonathan Krebs, Gov. Josh Stein’s advisor for western North Carolina, testify for state lawmakers on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
Gov. Josh Stein’s top lieutenants for Hurricane Helene recovery warned Wednesday that key federal money to rebuild homes could be delayed for months, possibly into the fall.
Jonathan Krebs, Stein’s advisor for western North Carolina, told state lawmakers that he was concerned the dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Management could be held up “outside of our control, for a variety of reasons.”
“It does not sit particularly well,” Krebs said. “If we are going to build this summer and start the work on permanent housing, we’re going to have to come up with some creative solutions.”
The timeline would throw another wrench in an already complex recovery effort in the mountains, with 2,600 households currently in temporary shelters.
Many of those North Carolinians could still not have permanent homes when winter weather returns in the fall. Those delays could force the General Assembly to explore ways to fund housing themselves — an approach that could butt up against leaders’ desire to spend cautiously and rely heavily on federal dollars.
“We’re all adults in the room,” said Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood). “Tell us how much money you need. … I know it doesn’t happen as quickly as it was destroyed. But so far we haven’t moved the needle.”
Rep. Pless also raised concerns in November that state legislators failed to provide substantial relief for western North Carolina in their latest round of funding. Republican leaders have defended their approach to aid, arguing that federal dollars would provide the bulk of support.
Multiple lawmakers on Wednesday led questioning toward the same core concern — a lack of sufficient money for the coming months. And although FEMA dollars were recently reactivated after a daylong freeze, Krebs said “we are in need of some spending authority here very soon, either way.”
Krebs and Matt Calabria, who leads Stein’s new GROW NC office, estimated that the state has received about $15.7 billion in federal dollars. That’s about $10 billion less than what state leaders requested.
State lawmakers have allocated $901 million in total dollars for recovery through three relief packages; the third package appropriated an additional $200 million, but does not specifically assign it to be spent.
Helene caused approximately $58 billion in damages across western North Carolina, officials have estimated.
HUD did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Wednesday about the timeline for federal housing money.
ReBuild NC’s financial woes loom over new operation
For several lawmakers, the financial troubles of North Carolina’s previous hurricane house-building agency — ReBuild NC — remained top of mind.
“Do you promise that if you encumber money to build a house, that it will stay encumbered and not be used for something else?” asked Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry), referencing accounting issues that led to a growing deficit at ReBuild NC.
“We’re not big fans of double counting, and we don’t have any intention of doing so,” Calabria replied.
The former Wake County commissioner indicated that relative to ReBuild NC and other states’ structures, GROW NC would remain relatively “lean” in size. He called it a “nerve center” for recovery efforts.
“We don’t want to bog this down with thick layers of bureaucracy,” Calabria said. “We want to move nimbly.”
Stein has pledged to continue rebuilding from Helene “for as long as it takes” — emphasizing housing, supporting businesses and rebuilding infrastructure as top priorities.
He spun up GROW NC to spearhead recovery, making it distinct from the controversial homebuilding office that has run up a major deficit and attracted ire from Republican lawmakers.
Those lawmakers, despite frustrations with the agency under former Gov. Roy Cooper, have expressed optimism about working with Stein more broadly on Helene.
Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said earlier this month that he was “hopefuly that we’ll be able to find common ground.”
And on Wednesday, House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) told reporters he had spoken to Stein and was “encouraged about his willingness to make modifications” to the ReBuild NC model.
“I think he recognizes mistakes were made with NCORR in the past,” Hall said. “So, we’re doing all we can to work in good faith with the Governor. I think he’s doing the same thing.”
Lynn Bonner contributed reporting.