As a category 4 hurricane makes it's way towards the biggest city in the South, residents are reminded of the fact that the Democrat mayor of Houston still hasn't finished cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey (3 years ago).
In fact, the funds to rebuild Houston after that storm rocked our city were recently the topic of dispute in a Texas Supreme Court case.
It's been three years since Hurricane Harvey rocked Houston and our Democrat mayor's rebuilding efforts have been riddled with problems.
A decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Texas on Friday will allow the state’s General Land Office (GLO) to resume accepting applications from Houston residents still seeking assistance nearly three years after Hurricane Harvey devastated the region.
At stake are U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds of $1.27 billion designated to help Houston homeowners rebuild after the 2017 storm.
Citing Houston’s lagging progress in distributing assistance, earlier this year Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced that the GLO would be taking over management and distribution of the HUD grant in order to provide more expedient help to homeowners.
In July however, Mayor Sylvester Turner and the City of Houston sued to stop GLO from processing applications and rebuilding homes in the city, and won a temporary injunction from Travis County State District Court Judge Tim Sulak. Today’s ruling removes that injunction and allows the GLO to resume operating the Houston program although the lawsuit is still pending.
Following the higher court’s ruling, Commissioner Bush announced that applications were once again opened to Houston residents.
“Houston homeowners affected by Hurricane Harvey who are still in need of assistance to repair or rebuild their homes are encouraged to apply,” said Bush. “The GLO is providing repairs and reconstruction for homes to be more resilient against natural disasters, including elevating homes above flood level.”
While Mayor Turner says that the city has “fully served 234 families,” according to GLO data, Houston has only rehabilitated or reconstructed 76 homes since launching its program in January of 2019.
By contrast, the GLO administered program, covering 48 counties, has rehabilitated or rebuilt 1,810 homes.
A Red Cross worker talks to a woman inside of the George R. Brown Convention Center which has been a shelter for evacuees from Hurricane Harvey in Houston on September 2, 2017. One week after Harvey blasted into southeast Texas as a Category Four hurricane, rescuers were still searching by air and by boat for people trapped in flooded homes. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)