MAYOR BILL WHITE
HAILS STATE APPROVAL OF HOUSTON/HARRIS COUNTY HURRICANE RECOVERY PLAN
May 10, 2007 - Mayor Bill White today hailed the approval by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs of $60 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for Houston/Harris County under the Texas Action Plan for Katrina-Rita Hurricane Recovery.
The City of Houston will utilize $40 million for public safety, including police overtime, and for apartment rehabilitation, and Harris County will utilize $20 million to meet a variety of public service needs of the evacuee community including medical and case management services. The plan will now be forwarded to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for final approval and release of the funds.
"We see this approval as a vote of confidence in our efficient and effective management of these efforts, without an undue financial burden on local taxpayers," said Mayor White after speaking before the TDHCA Board meeting in Austin this morning. "We thank the TDHCA. Houston has done its part and the federal government is living up to its responsibility to provide the funding for all that we've accomplished in helping our fellow Americans through an unprecedented disaster."
" When Governor Perry approved $60 million for the City of Houston and Harris County, he directed that they have maximum flexibility on how to use these funds to serve Katrina evacuees," said Michael Gerber, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. "Now that this plan has been approved by the TDHCA Board, we hope HUD will also work quickly to approve it and get these funds moving for critical housing, law enforcement, and youth and senior services."
In summary, the Houston/Harris County plan will:
Provide safe, sanitary affordable housing for displaced evacuees including evacuees with special needs;
Implement a coordinated housing safety program to promote community development and decrease crime in communities where evacuees have resettled;
Address costs incurred in providing necessary emergency and non-emergency medical services provided to evacuees immediately following the disasters and months thereafter;
Provide necessary crisis counseling and case management to evacuees who continue to face extreme transition emergencies; and
Address the public service needs of special populations.
Activity
Available Funding for Activity
Neighborhoods To Standard Program
$20,000,000
Multi-Family Apartment Community Liaison Program
$20,000,000
Evacuee Public Services:
Housing Safety Program-Expanded public services to incarcerated evacuees
