Louisiana has submitted its action plan to the feds for spending $600 million in federal disaster aid for Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The state proposes using the grant money for homeowner assistance, creating affordable housing, and other programs. Nearly $200 million would be dedicated to infrastructure. Pat Forbes, executive director of the Office of Community Development, says those dollars remove a tremendous burden from local governments.
“This $196 million is what would otherwise be coming out of the coffers of local governments to pay that match,” said Forbes. “So we’re gonna cover that match instead.”
Now the state will conduct a series of forums to get input from the public. Forbes says this is something the state has been actively doing over the last 18 months, but additional comment is needed to comply with HUD regulations and to further guide spending priorities.
“We’ve already gathered a lot of information about priorities,” Forbes said, “but these meetings give us a chance, once we’ve put it all in writing, for people to come out and tell us what they think.”
Forbes says this is just the beginning as lawmakers at both the state and federal levels continue to fight for additional dollars to accelerate the state’s rebuild.
“The governor has been making that case that we need more money allocated to this,” he said. “So we’re working with the congressional delegation, with the White House, to make sure we get an adequate amount of money for a full recovery.
To read the plan or to see the full schedule of public forums, visit restore.la.gov.
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