N.C. Gov. Easley Suggest Using ‘Rainy Day Fund’ for Hurricane Relief

With damage estimates after last year’s hurricanes approaching $300 million, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has asked legislators to approve spending $61 million from the state’s rainy day fund to assist victims in western counties.

The governors request to spend rainy day fund monies came on the heels of a request from western North Carolina officials and residents approached the Joint Legislative Committee for Hurricane Relief to assist them in paying for repairs.

Easley’s office has already allocated or spent both state and federal money provided for storm assistance. He diverted $90 million in December from state agencies and secured more than $100 million in federal aid. The North Carolina Department of Transportation also spend $35 million on road and bridge repairs in the western part of the state.

If the new request is approved by the Legislature, that would amount to at least $286 million in state and federal aid to the beleaguered counties.

Senate Democrats already have introduced a bill that would tap the state’s reserve fund and the money already collected by the Easley administration from state agencies for $316 million in hurricane relief. The reserve, or rainy day fund, contains $267 million.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane North Carolina