ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Aiexpress) — Governor Josh Stein announced various moves to aid in the short- and long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene, with an urgent emphasis on more temporary housing and repairs to private bridges and roadways.
Stein, who took the oath of office on Wednesday to succeed fellow Democrat Roy Cooper, drove to Asheville and declared, with legislators and officials from both parties behind him, that he had issued five executive orders in response to the historic floods in western North Carolina in late September.
“The needs facing this region are vast and require immediate attention,” Stein said during a news conference. “I pledge to do everything in my power as governor to accelerate recovery of the rebuilding of a more resilient region for the long haul.”
Helene killed nearly 100 people in North Carolina, and state officials estimate that the storm produced a record $59.6 billion in losses and recovery costs. Billions of money have already been spent or planned for the recovery by the federal and state governments, and Congress promised at least $9 billion in further aid last month. However, Stein stated that more must be done this winter to place more people in warm and safe housing on their own property, as well as to restore critical transportation linkages between small villages, first responders, and school buses.
One presidential order authorizes the state Department of Public Safety to purchase up to 1,000 temporary housing units until the end of next month without going through the typical state procurement and bidding procedures. Stein stated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is funding the expenditures of these units. FEMA is already following another regulatory route by installing such trailers on its own, he added.
Stein also authorized the Division of Emergency Management to engage repair contractors for private bridges and roads without going through a procurement process. It also allows environmental authorities to waive restrictions to expedite permits and inspections.
Helene has displaced over 12,000 people in western North Carolina and caused major damage to over 8,000 private roads and bridges, according to Stein’s injunction.
“When I have met with affected folks here in the mountains, the need for housing assistance and the repairing of private bridges and roads has come up in nearly every conversation,” he told me. “Western North Carolina — I want you to know that I hear you.”
Another Stein order establishes a new Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina and, within the Commerce Department, a Division of Community Revitalization, which will oversee the rebuilding of properties destroyed or damaged by Helene.
The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, established during Cooper’s administration, would focus on repairing homes in eastern North Carolina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018, Stein said. Republicans in authority of the General Assembly have expressed dissatisfaction with the agency’s work pace and a budget deficiency for current housing projects.
Stein also issued an order granting many state employees more paid leave this year to assist with Helene-related recovery operations, and he pledged to maintain a Helene recovery advisory council that he established following his November election victory. Republican state Senator Kevin Corbin, who co-chaired the panel with Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, said Thursday that Stein’s actions were “bipartisan commonsense solutions.”
New State Auditor Dave Boliek, also a Republican, issued a statement later Thursday informing Stein that his department would hold Stein’s office accountable for how money from the orders is spent.
“Given past failures to effectively provide hurricane relief to Eastern North Carolina, it is in the best interest of Hurricane Helene victims that our office takes such action,” Boliek told reporters.