ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Nearly one year after Helene devastated western North Carolina, questions remain about how federal recovery dollars are moving.
On Tuesday night, the Department of Homeland Security announced more than $12 million in FEMA reimbursements for North Carolina. The press release listed money for road repairs, school remediation, and public facility projects across the region.
However, local leaders and state officials say the process is far more complicated than the headlines.
“Disaster recovery is a lengthy process reimbursement funding has slowed due to increased reviews at the federal level,” said Justin Graney, Chief of External Affairs and Communications for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management.
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N.C.’s emergency management officials told News 13 that the state doesn’t sit on FEMA money. Instead, reimbursements only move after FEMA loads obligated funds into the federal system. From there, the state draws the money down and transfers it to counties and towns.
The process follows a strict chain:
For small towns like Old Fort, that wait has become increasingly frustrating. The town was highlighted in two separate DHS press releases, each promising $1.4 million for permanent repairs to public facilities.
Old Fort Mayor Pam Snypes told News 13 that none of the money has arrived.
“We have not received any of the $1.4 million. Doing a press release promising funds doesn’t help pay the expenses occurring from the storm. They need to follow up their words,” Snypes said.
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News 13 sent detailed questions about the $12 million announcement directly to FEMA, DHS, and the White House. Those questions included whether the funds had actually been transferred or only obligated in FEMA’s system, whether recipients had received any money, what expenses were being reimbursed, and how quickly local governments could expect future reimbursements.
The White House did not answer those specifics. Instead, officials shared a statement saying part:
“President Trump cares deeply about all those impacted by Hurricane Helene.”
They advised reporters to “ping FEMA” for additional details. FEMA and DHS did not respond to News 13’s follow-up.
Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) called the $12 million announcement “progress” but said the money should have been approved months ago. He praised the president’s commitment to western North Carolina but placed blame on bottlenecks inside DHS.
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“I think it’s great progress. Look, this should have been done closer to last December, but the fact that it did go out the door late last night is a sign that things are going in the right direction,” Budd told News 13. “The president is all about western North Carolina. The problem is a process problem at DHS. We can’t get a lot of responsiveness from DHS, but the president is good. I’m good on this. And the delegation, the House delegation, is good on this. We just need DHS to step up and stop the bottleneck process that they have here.”
Budd said he has been unable to reach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem directly.
“I’m trying to get in touch with Secretary Noem, and that has been difficult. I am still waiting on a call from her,” Budd said. “We might fix this problem for North Carolina today, but my role is not just for North Carolina. There’s going to be another emergency. And if the Secretary has this process in place, it only makes things worse for the rest of the country. We can’t have that.”
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Budd also addressed the concerns of local mayors and county managers who say announcements don’t pay bills.
“We’ve seen FEMA send out press releases and we’re not letting up. That’s one of the tools in the Senate tool belt, we can place holds on these nominees and they will not get a vote on the floor until this problem is resolved,” Budd said. “I don’t care about press releases. I care that these dollars get to western North Carolina so that western North Carolina can get back on its feet.”
Budd said he’s willing to hold up DHS nominations until FEMA delivers on reimbursements and called for decision-making authority to be delegated lower in the department rather than left at the secretary’s desk.
“Don’t make it all go through her desktop. Delegate authority down to very competent people. Right now, it’s a bottleneck, and that has to change,” Budd said.
