As North Carolina begins its long-term Helene recovery, the state faces a sobering math problem.

Full recovery will cost nearly $60 billion, according to a state budget office estimation. The federal government may chip in $15 billion — far less than requested. So far, the legislature has passed three relief packages, which collectively dedicate $1.1 billion to recovery. The state’s rainy day fund hovers around $3.7 billion, and it’s highly unlikely to be emptied to handle Helene efforts.

That calculus leaves a gaping hole for the legislature, as well as local communities and private donors, to fill as Western North Carolinians look to put their lives and livelihoods back together.

Jonathan Krebs, an advisor for the newly-created Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, sees it as an impossible equation.

“We didn’t get enough money, and it’s very likely that there will be a middle income group of people that are not going to be served because we run out of funds,” Krebs told the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery.

'Broken promises'

Lawmakers were visibly frustrated as they recently questioned Pryor Gibson, director of the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency.

The office helps North Carolinians impacted by Hurricanes Florence and Matthew get back into permanent housing. At least that was the plan.

Eight years removed from Hurricane Matthew and six years from Hurricane Florence, there are still 1,179 homes under construction or awaiting to be built. Progress has nearly halted because more money is needed.

Republican State Rep. Brenden Jones, co-chair of a joint legislative subcommittee on hurricane response and recovery, said at NCORR’s last legislative hearing that lawmakers were promised the final stages of housing recovery could be completed for less than $265 million.

But last week, Gibson requested about $35 million more.

That’s been a pattern for the agency, Jones said.

“The people of North Carolina have had enough of NCORR’s broken promises and mismanagement,” he said. “Let's be clear: This is not our first committee meeting on your failures.”

Sad to see. America sends all its money to the war effort but building homes after a disaster we have no money sorry.

I would like to think your common American would vote to approve federal funds to help these people. Instead money gets spent on the things most Americans don’t give a damn about like weapons of war.

Hopefully in a bitcoin world NC State will have a bitcoin savings they can pull from to help its tax paying citizens