Gov. Cooper proposes hurricane relief budget, raises concerns about partisanship

On Oct. 23, Gov. Roy Cooper proposed an additional $3.9 billion in state funding to relieve communities impacted by Hurricane Helene and other recent natural disasters.

Of the remaining $33.4 billion in estimated hurricane relief costs for Western North Carolina, the proposed funding would cover 12 percent.

The funding would go toward covering nine different sectors in need of financial support according to the governor’s office, including economic, housing, utility and natural resource, transportation, agriculture, government, education, health and human services and Tribal and Federal Land relief.

N.C. Rep. Allen Buansi (D-Orange) said he was appreciative of the governor’s proposal because it was a comprehensive next step in addressing hurricane relief.

“There are so many needs right now in Western North Carolina — from food to childcare centers to needed assistance with rent, mortgage and utilities and also for folks who are having mental health challenges, as well as for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” he said.

Childcare center recovery is a particularly important sector in need of support, Buansi said.

"[There] are a lot of folks out there who have families and who also have to somehow get themselves together to go out and work," he said.

N.C. Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Caswell, Orange, Person) said while both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly are aligned in providing aid for families affected by Hurricane Helene and other natural disasters in Western North Carolina, there have been differences of opinion in the policymaking process.

The debate between the chambers is primarily about the total amount of aid the state should give and who should receive it, he said.

“In this case, I think it's not surprising that the legislature didn't just accept the governor's recommendations in whole — because that rarely happens — but it was surprising that the legislative bill this week was so far away from the governor's recommendations,” Meyer said.

One aspect Buansi said he had hoped for was more bipartisanship in generating the relief package, but he said representatives from Buncombe County were not included in the discussion. 

Funding relief efforts for Hurricane Helene are a long-term investment that will take many years to fully pay out, Buansi said. The state will need to pursue more actions than just the proposed funding, he said, and there needs to be a consistent effort in supporting the recovery of Western North Carolina.

He also said there has been a large circulation of misinformation about FEMA's responsiveness about the assistance being sent to Western North Carolina.

“For folks on the outside, it is extremely important that we not get entrenched in partisanship when it comes to disasters that hit people," he said. 

Tazanna Jones, a student at UNC, said the current biggest issue for Western North Carolina is communication. There are still ongoing issues including a lack of Wi-Fi, empty grocery shelves and power and water advisories, she said.

She also said she would prefer a more focused approach on critical needs, including rescue support.

"There's just so much more room for natural disasters to become worse than in the city, and that's my opinion, because of how much more land and how much everything up above there is, so I think that there needs to be a better understanding of those regions in order to help more efficiently in the future," Jones said.

Gov. Cooper's proposal has been sent to deliberations in the NCGA, where they will decide what to include in a final appropriations act.

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