Here's what North Carolina needs to do to get back on track with disaster recovery:

Complete the reconstruction of the remaining homes damaged by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence without further dela

The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) was created in 2018 by former Gov. Roy Cooper to oversee rebuilding efforts for Matthew and Florence. After six years, the bureaucracy completed homes for only 68 percent of the hurricane victims before running out of money.

Policymakers have put forth HB 222, which would allocate funding to NCORR to complete the remaining homes for the more than 1,000 families still waiting. If policymakers intend to allow NCORR to complete the remaining homes instead of some alternative, the funding should be provided as quickly as possible.

Dissolve the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), also known as ReBuild NC

NCORR should be permanently dissolved upon completion of the homes for the victims of Matthew and Florence. Despite receiving $981.8 million from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), NCORR generated an estimated budget shortfall of $319 million. State taxpayers have been forced to make up the difference.

Given this significant mismanagement, NCORR should be eliminated once the recovery process is complete. This would ensure that the same lack of accountability does not burden future hurricane victims and that taxpayers are not forced to cover such miscalculations again.

Ensure that the newly created Division of Community Revitalization (DCR) does not mimic NCORR’s organizational structure or action plans, and require annual audits of their activities

To supersede NCORR, Gov. Josh Stein established the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), which is primarily tasked with administrative duties, and the Division of Community Revitalization (DCR) to oversee rebuilding efforts. In February, DCR released the first draft of its proposed action plan. The purpose of the action plan is for DCR to explain its recovery strategy and budget allocations.

The action plan contains some favorable policies, such as plans to contract program management with private organizations and prioritize households with senior citizens, disabled individuals, children, or people with accessibility needs. However, the current draft mimics NCORR’s action plan(s) by aiming to allocate $244.7 million to affordable housing. At the same time, funding to help direct victims reconstruct their damaged homes will likely be inadequate.

To ensure NCORR’s failures are avoided, policymakers should require regular audits of DCR’s activities

DCR should be a lean organization tasked primarily with contracting rebuilding efforts with private organizations that have proven track records in disaster recovery

At its most bloated point, NCORR employed more than 240 bureaucrats and provided all program management by in-house staff. DCR should be a much smaller agency and maintain its current plan of action to contract program management with private organizations that have been effective in previous disaster recovery efforts.