North Carolina鈥檚 legislature passed more than $1 billion with two Helene recovery funding bills in October, but by mid-February, about two-thirds of that money still hadn鈥檛 been spent.
The two bills allocated funding for an array of state agencies to help western North Carolina. And while some programs have completely spent their money, others hadn鈥檛 spent any of it as of February, according to , or GROW NC.
The presentation included a list of spending that showed about $750 million remains unspent from the $1.1 billion appropriated last year for Helene.
Jonathan Krebs is Gov. Josh Stein's Western North Carolina Recovery Advisor. He explained that some of that unspent money was set aside for required matches to federal funding. Because FEMA is covering most expenses now, that money largely hasn鈥檛 been needed yet.
鈥淎 lot of this is kind of working through its process, and some of these funds are intended to be spent over the course of a year or over 18 months,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o there may be reasons for specific delays and why all of the funds aren't expended here as we stand today.鈥�
But not all of the money in the two October bills was tied to federal funds. A $10 million allocation to help child care facilities recover was targeted to the N.C. Partnership for Children and its Smart Start Local Partnerships, but the money was directed first to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The money 鈥渢o provide assistance in reopening and maintaining operations鈥� didn鈥檛 get forwarded to Smart Start until Feb. 25 鈥� four months after the bill was signed into law. A DHHS spokesperson said the agency first had to 鈥渟et up the necessary administrative procedures to distribute the funding,鈥� because the Partnership for Children 鈥渄oes not typically distribute funds in the way directed by the General Assembly.鈥�
A Smart Start spokeswoman says the money was allocated to the Local Partnerships the following day, and they鈥檝e begun the grant application process. The partnership serving Buncombe County is taking applications through April 11 and says it will announce funding decisions by May 16 鈥� nearly seven months after the legislature appropriated the child care funding.
While dozens of child care centers were closed in the immediate aftermath of Helene, all but about 10 have been able to reopen, according to the N.C. Licensed Child Care Association.
Other allocations in the October legislation were for short-term loan programs. Small businesses and local governments have been reluctant to take on debt, Krebs said.
鈥淲e have a number of loans here that are largely being underutilized,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o it would be a consideration to think whether grants are a better mechanism or if there's some other approach to helping meet these needs.鈥�
Democrats and Gov. Josh Stein have advocated for more grant programs, particularly for small businesses and local governments, but they mostly weren鈥檛 included in the latest disaster recovery legislation signed into law this month.
State legislators aren鈥檛 happy with the pace at which the money is being spent. Senate leader Phil Berger says he鈥檚 seen several examples of delayed distributions, and 鈥淚 think they are concerns that need to be addressed.鈥�
Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, said the delays have led to new reporting requirements in the new disaster relief bill.
鈥淲e don't have a clear picture of how much has been spent,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can get a fuller picture now with the requirement the executive branch report within seven days.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a look at the October Helene state funding allocations that haven鈥檛 been fully spent yet:
Water and sewer infrastructure: The Department of Environmental Quality received $100 million for loans to local governments to help them make emergency repairs to utility infrastructure.
A DEQ spokeswoman said that $60 million has been directed so far to 21 local governments in western North Carolina. 鈥淔unds still remain available for drinking water and wastewater needs in western NC,鈥� she said.
Loans for small businesses: The legislature sent $50 million to the Golden LEAF Foundation to provide 鈥渂ridge loans鈥� to affected small businesses. The group has so far issued more than $28.8 million to 475 businesses, helping retain about 4,000 jobs.
But some businesses have been hesitant to take on debt, and Golden LEAF鈥檚 Kasey Ginsberg told 瓜神app it鈥檚 鈥渉ard to say鈥� if the full amount will be loaned out. 鈥淎pplications are still open and coming in, certainly at a slower rate than previously,鈥� she said in an email.
Underground storage tanks: About $22 million was directed to DEQ鈥檚 Division of Waste Management to provide loans to businesses that own commercial underground storage tanks, such as the storage used at gas stations, to help them repair and test them. So far, only six loans have been issued, totaling $347,514.
鈥淒WM sent out notice letters to potential loan recipients, visited 35 sites in Western North Carolina to meet with owners and operators and reached out to more than 3,800 facilities to inform facilities about the loan program,鈥� a spokesperson said in an email.
Debris cleanup: The Department of Agriculture received $25 million in December for debris cleanup, but none had been spent as of February. David Williams, director of the department鈥檚 Division of Soil and Water Conservation, said that鈥檚 because the money can鈥檛 be used for anything the federal government might cover.
鈥淯ntil we know where their funds are going, we鈥檙e in a wait-and-see pattern right now, and it鈥檚 probably going to be that way for a little while,鈥� he said.
Emergency Management matches: The Department of Public Safety鈥檚 Emergency Management division got $325 million to provide matches for federal funds; so far only $51 million of that total has been spent.
Here are some of the funding allocations that have been fully spent:
Rent and utilities: The Department of Health and Human Services got $10 million to help people with rent and utility payments.
School facilities: The Department of Public Instruction spent well over the $50 million it was allocated for repairs to public school facilities; that鈥檚 likely to require additional state funding in the future.
Tourism: A $5 million tourism marketing allocation has been fully spent by Visit NC.
