A bill was filed in the NC House last week that would fund the Rebuild NC program, which is meant to repair or rebuild homes in eastern North Carolina damaged in hurricanes Florence and Matthew.
The bill is called the C.O.O.P.E.R. Accountability Act, a jab at the former governor who founded the beleaguered program. It would pump $217 million into the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency to complete its backlog of around 1,000 projects.
The funding can’t come soon enough for folks like Karen Gladden, who are frustrated with delays. She moved out of her Hampstead home in November to prepare for demolition and replacement, and moved into a rental funded by the program.
“So I moved out that weekend," she explained. "That following week in November, the contractor called me. He was actually pulling up at the house, and he had just gotten a call and said that all construction had stopped.”
Now, Gladden says her rental reimbursement check from the agency is delayed. Her rent is due at the start of March, and she’s worried she’ll need to move out.
“I don't feel like I have a home anymore,” she said.
The C.O.O.P.E.R. Accountability act would also implement reporting and accountability requirements for the program, which has been plagued with budget overruns.
NCORR officials did not respond to questions about the delayed payments before press time.