10:06am: Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval

WV long-term flood relief has now turned over 25 homes to families

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s government-led, long-term flood relief effort has now turned over 25 homes, Adjutant General James Hoyer told a legislative committee.

Hoyer spoke before the Joint Committee on flooding during interim meetings. Hoyer was placed in charge of West Virginia’s full long-term flood relief effort last spring when controversy broke out over the slow pace of West Virginia Rise.

“My sense is the individuals out there impacted by RISE believe the program is moving in the right direction and they have confidence in the program,” Hoyer told lawmakers.

“I believe they have the confidence we are working expeditiously to take care of the issues we can.”

The long-term flood response is an outcome of the catastrophic flooding that struck West Virginia during summer 2016.

Thousands of West Virginians were forced from their homes by rising water — and then resulting mud and mold.

Volunteer and non-profit efforts to help flood victims with housing surged ahead while the official governmental effort lagged behind.

Overall, Hoyer said, there are still 424 cases in the system being tracked. Those are at various stages of being addressed.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development continues to label the state a slow spender, just as has almost ever since it authorized West Virginia to spend $150 million in federal funds.

As of Sept. 1, West Virginia had $149,875,000 to spend.

The state had actually spent $147,748,532.

That’s a pace of $226,753 a month over the past three months, HUD calculated.

West Virginia has been trying to regain momentum since June 4, when Hoyer was placed in charge of the effort. The state also has had to rebid contracts with private companies that are doing the work on flood relief.

More than 40 remain under the original contracts with the state. The state has gone from four contracts to nine.

Hoyer said state officials have reached out for more help with both environmental reviews and with internal auditing.

He said the state is far above compliance with a U.S. Housing and Urban Development requirement that 70 percent of the disaster relief funds must go to low- to moderate-income families. West Virginia is at 100 percent, he said.

“So we are clearly serving the population of the state of West Virginia that needs this program the most,” Hoyer said.





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