Abbott, local officials in new fight over Harvey money

FILE - Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to the press on March 16, 2018 in Dickinson, Texas. FILE - Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to the press on March 16, 2018 in Dickinson, Texas. Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 11 Caption Close Abbott, local officials in new fight over Harvey money 1 / 11 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- Local officials in Houston and dozens of Gulf Coast jurisdictions devastated by Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday asked the state to tap its Rainy Day Fund savings account to pay for billions in disaster mitigation projects, the latest political fight to erupt over state funding.

Gov. Greg Abbott immediately responded with a letter of his own to Houston: Stop complaining. Plenty of money is available, but you haven't applied for any of it.

In addition, he told Houston that of the $50 million the state lent it last September to cover emergency costs, the city has spent less than $5 million.

"There is more money available to you than you have demonstrated the ability to spend to respond to Hurricane Harvey and to mitigate future damage," Abbott said in his terse response to the local officials' plea. "I strongly urge you to begin taking advantage of these funds today."

The governor's office is sending similar letters to the other 55 Harvey-battered counties and cities that signed the request to Abbott.

In comments Wednesday to the Houston city council, Mayor Sylvester Turner said that without a state match, some local governments will not be able to use the grants at all, adding that many other states have provided the match money for their localities.

"We ask that the state of Texas make a similar effort, as a partner in flood mitigation," Turner said.

At issue is $1 billion recovery funding available through the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which could be used for long-term recovery by paying for projects to mitigate future disasters such as flooding.

Under the program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for 75 percent of the costs of those projects. The local officials, in their letter to Abbott, want the state to tap into its Economic Stabilization Fund -- known as the Rainy Day Fund -- to cover the remaining 25 percent of the costs.

"By covering the local share, not only would the state directly save local taxpayer dollars, but would equitably fund projects across the impacted area," the letter to Abbott states.

"The states of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Georgia and Colorado have provided for local matches in situations utilizing HMGP," the letter continues, asking Texas to pony up state funds, as well.

In his response, Abbott said more than $4.3 billion in federal funding is available for mitigation projects. Concerning the $5 billion alone that Congress allocated for Harvey recovery, the governor said lawmakers in Washington specifically allowed them to cover the local match with that money.

"There is currently $500 million available to local jurisdictions for the purpose of flood mitigation, with $600 million more becoming available in August 2018," Abbott states in his letter. "To date, the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) has received zero applications from the city of Houston to access this funding, meaning there is hundreds of millions of dollars sitting on the table for your use."

And that funding does not include $17.4 billion allocated by Congress to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- almost three times the agency's current budget -- for flood mitigation projects, many of them in the Houston area.

In addition, Abbott said that of the $50 million the state loaned to Houston for emergency costs after Harvey, less than $5 million has been spent. "This is shocking considering your insistence on the necessity of the funds for immediate needs," Abbott said in his letter.

Some $25 million of that loan was for debris removal, and the rest was to cover insurance payments, officials said earlier.

""All of the above funding that is already available, coupled with the absence of requests for those funds, shows that you have yet to even identify what you need to spend money on," Abbott said. "It is perplexing that you are seeking more funding when you have shown no ability to spend what you already have access to."

Abbott has previously announced that he will support use of Rainy Day Funds money to cover Harvey costs, once local officials detail those projects and specify how much money is needed.

The state fund contains around $10 billion.

Abbott aides said that requests for federal mitigation money will expedited as soon as they are received, and funds could be available within days in some cases. They said Harris County has four or five applications pending.

mike.ward@chron.com and mike.morris@chron.com

Mike Ward, the Houston Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, covers Texas politics and the governor's office and the executive branch, along with criminal justice and ethics issues. Follow him on Twitter @ChronicleMike and send him story tips at Mike.Ward@Chron.com.