Subpart D. Office of Recovery and Resiliency.

§ 143B-1040.  Office of Recovery and Resiliency.

(a) The Office of Recovery and Resiliency (Office) is created in the Department of Public Safety. The Office shall execute multi-year recovery and resiliency projects and administer funds provided by the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program for Hurricanes Florence and Matthew. The Office will provide general disaster recovery coordination and public information; citizen outreach and application case management; audit, finance, compliance, and reporting on disaster recovery funds; and program and construction management services. The Office shall also contract for services from vendors specializing in housing, construction, and project management services.

(b) The Office shall develop and administer a grant program for financially distressed local governments to assist with recovery capacity. The grants shall cover the salaries, benefits, and operating costs for up to two three-year positions and may also be used to purchase one vehicle per community as necessitated by the individual circumstances of each community. The Office shall also, in consultation with the Local Government Commission, develop and administer a one-time emergency fund for local governments in disaster-affected areas that need immediate cash flow assistance. These funds shall be used to meet local government debt service obligations, to meet payroll obligations for local governments, and to meet vendor payments where nonpayment would result in negative financial outcome.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery awards received by the State in response to the declarations and executive orders described in Section 3.1 of S.L. 2016-124, or in any subsequent federally declared disasters, shall be administered by the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency of the Department of Public Safety, including circumstances where the designated grantee is an agency other than the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. (2018-136, 3rd Ex. Sess., s. 5.7(a), (b); 2018-138, s. 2.15(a); 2019-250, s. 3.3.)