The following is Mayor Sylvester Turner’s updated statement on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s decision to grant control of the City’s Harvey housing recovery funds to the Texas General Land Office.
“Today, HUD joined the GLO in arbitrarily eliminating all the City’s funds just over 1.5 years into the program. The homeowners and renters who have been impacted by Harvey are the ones who will suffer by their capricious action. With nearly $500 million of projects, repairs and reconstruction in the City pipeline, the City was on track to spend the funding for quality recovery projects by the program deadline.
“We remain committed to finding an amicable path forward as demonstrated by our multiple offers to the GLO prior to pursuing litigation. We have reached out to members of our Congressional Delegation and advised them of the action HUD has taken, which we believe directly conflicts with their intent.
“We will continue to do everything on our end to make sure that homeowners are not overlooked and shortchanged. In this political and partisan environment, the GLO’s power grab and HUD’s decision are not surprising.”