Bearing photos of homes that still have blue tarps on the roofs, more than 100 protesters held a rally at City Hall on the third anniversary of Hurricane Ike on Tuesday and pleaded with the City Council to accelerate its repair program.

"I'm tired of the city telling me to be patient," said Elvis Malveaux at the rally. "You try living under a blue tarp and be patient!"

Malveaux may be one of the lucky ones. She could be in a new home paid for by federal funds by January, according to the city's Housing and Community Development Department. The city recently issued a notice to its building contractor to start on Malveaux's replacement house.

More than 2,300 people are on a waiting list seeking government assistance to replace or repair their Ike-damaged homes. So far, the city has rebuilt or is rebuilding 71. It plans to have 242 homes done by the end of 2012.

City officials had a don't-shoot-the-messenger response to the protesters. The first round of federal disaster relief money was delayed by the state, city housing spokesman Marc Eichenbaum said. And the state changed the rules midstream, forcing victims to reapply for aid, he said.

"We wish we had a magic wand we could wave to assist all the Houstonians that need their homes repaired or rebuilt. Unfortunately, we have limited resources," Eichenbaum said.

The Texas Organizing Project, an advocacy group for low-income people that coordinated Tuesday's rally and the packing of the City Council chambers, maintains that the city has poorly managed those limited resources.

Houston allocated most of its first batch of $109 million on apartments, spending that generally benefited higher-income people than those who qualified for single-family repairs. And when the city last month showcased the first homes built to replace those wrecked by Ike, a state inspector discovered that contractors had neglected to install insulation in one of them.

"It's like being valedictorian of summer school to be celebrating 242 homes," said Ginny Goldman, the organizing project's executive director.

The group took its fight to City Hall in hopes of influencing how the city decides to spend future disaster money in applying for a second installment later this year. Its members are demanding that every penny be spent on home repairs rather than on apartments or non-housing purposes.

It also called for an oversight board to audit the spending of the city housing department's current repair program and to find ways to spend the next round of money more quickly and efficiently.

Representatives of the city and the state General Land Office, which took charge of the distribution of disaster recovery money on July 1, said Houston's share of second-round funding is undetermined. Eichenbaum said that makes any discussion of how to spend that money speculative. He said he did not want to risk creating confusion and false expectations before the city has a plan and a fixed amount of money in hand.

Malveaux, meanwhile, spoke of the cracks in her walls, the damaged ceilings in her dining room and the paneling coming off the walls of her living room. She said insurance put a new roof on her home. She said she had to rely on relatives to come up with $1,600 for deposit in an escrow account to qualify for the federal assistance.

"I don't have that kind of money," she said. "I'm a senior citizen!"

Both Eichenbaum and Mayor Annise Parker said that many of the applicants the city has evaluated so far do not qualify for assistance under the Community Development Block Grant program, intended to meet needs not covered by insurance or other federal assistance. They must meet income requirements and prove they do not owe child support and that they have clear title to their homes.

"It's a shame that individuals have the misunderstanding that they are guaranteed assistance," Eichenbaum said.

chris.moran@chron.com