Buckingham addressing City Council

GLO Announces HUD Disaster Relief Deadline Extension

4/17/4 – While addressing Houston City Council this morning, Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has given the City and Harris County a two-year extension on the use of Harvey Disaster Relief funds.

Without this extension, the City of Houston and Harris County would have had until February 2025 to spend these funds. This extension means Harris County communities and communities in another 48 Harvey impacted counties will have an opportunity for more time to finish projects. 

GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham (purple dress) surrounded by Houston City Council and Mayor John Whitmire.

The GLO administers all HUD funds within the State of Texas.

Extension Needed to Complete Projects

The extension became necessary because time is running out to use the funds allocated by HUD several years ago. The delays were caused in part by distrust.

Under a previous mayor, Houston repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for the expenditure of funds. Eventually, GLO had to take over administration of several City programs. And a HUD investigation found irregularities in City programs.

The City and Harris County were also late in submitting project lists to the GLO. Twenty-two months after learning they would receive hundreds of millions of dollars, the two entities still hadn’t submitted project lists to use the money.

By the time Houston and Harris County submitted project lists, time was running short and fear of HUD clawbacks set in.

Today’s announcement means that $322 million worth of projects can move forward with a high degree of confidence that they will be successfully completed and reimbursed.

The announcement affects HUD Disaster Relief funds, which had the tightest deadlines. HUD Mitigation funds have more time.

The Mayor and several City Council Members including Twila Carter (an at-large member who lives in Kingwood) talked about “hitting the relationship reset button” in a positive way. The smiles and positive comments lasted 45 minutes. The sense of relief was palpable.

Mayor John Whitmire, who previously worked with Commissioner Buckingham in the Texas Senate, emphasized the importance of trust. He said that people were “hungry to see government working again.”

Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, helped stabilize strained Harris County relations with the GLO and attended the meeting.

Need to Find Displaced Families

The Council discussion also included several other topics including the high cost of insurance and affordable housing. Commissioner Buckingham emphasized that she herself lived below the poverty line while growing up “until the age of 35.”

Buckingham also announced the launch of a collaborative outreach effort to seek out Houstonians who were displaced under former Mayor Turner’s tenure and not offered relocation assistance.

Approximately 900 families at four apartment complexes that received HUD disaster relief funding should have been offered money to move. But they were not.

Now, it’s hard to find those displaced families. Buckingham and Whitmire announced a collaborative effort with community groups to help find those people. Once found, they can apply for the assistance they deserved, but didn’t get.

“We will use many resources to find these Houstonians, including outreach through schools, churches, and faith organizations, Houston Public Works, food banks, and community organizations,” said Commissioner Buckingham.

The four apartment complexes include:

Monticello Square Apartments
5312 Clarewood Drive, Houston 77081
Buyout date: August 24, 2021

Spring Village Apartments
11810 Chimney Rock Road, Houston 77035
Buyout date: June 2, 2021

Biscayne at City View
17030 & 17050 Imperial Valley Drive, Houston 77060
Buyout date: Nov. 17, 2021

Appian Way Apartments
3200 N. MacGregor Way, Houston 77004
Buyout date: May 5, 2021

Affected residents of these apartment complexes should visit recovery.texas.gov/URAHouston for information on eligibility for assistance. Or they can contact the URA Assistance Program at:

19219 Katy Freeway, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77094
Telephone: 281-925-7155 or 1-844-893-8937 (toll free)
Fax: 832-582-2580
Email: cdr@recovery.texas.gov

Posted by Bob Rehak on 4/17/2024

2423 Days since Hurricane Harvey