Nearly six years after Hurricane Harvey, millions of dollars for relief is still tied up in red tape and yet to be dole out to those in need.
The money came from the feds to the state, with Houston-Harris County fighting over their share with the Texas General Land Office. Meanwhile, some property owners are still waiting on repairs from Harvey.
"Anybody that could have been helped with this money is long gone. They've either given up or moved away, or they've sold their property at a reduced price. It's just absurd this money was not immediately available for the people who suffered so much in that storm," says political blogger Bill King.
In the wake of Harvey, there were reports of $35 million spent on 'outreach services,' including $6.7 million awarded to Mayor Sylvester Turner's former law partner for 'legal fees.'
King believes properties still damaged by Harvey should be turned into green space to help mitigate flooding.
"Rather than going in and fixing it up, or spending months out of their house having it jacked up and just create an additional problem down the road, we'd be better off buying those people out. Let them go buy a place that's not flood-prone, and then we tear that stuff down and create green space."
Harris County commissioners in April, just approved a plan to allocate $750 million, agreeing at least half of it must be spent by June 2025.
"I'll give some allowance to the city and county, the rules are ridiculously complicated. Primarily coming from the federal government, but also the state adds another layer of complexity," says King.
On Wednesday, city and county leaders announced a new Greater Houston Disaster Alliance between the Greater Houston Community Foundation and local United Way, which will administer a permanent fund available to immediately assist those in need during hurricanes or other emergencies.
Phillips 66 and Enbridge Energy chipped in a combined $1.5 million to kickstart the fund.
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