State Auditor Releases Critical Report on North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has released its report evaluating the administration of the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s (NCORR) Homeowner Recovery Program (HRP).
NCORR managed more than $1 billion in federal and state disaster recovery funds through the HRP following Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). OSA’s independent assessment, ordered by the General Assembly, found that while the HRP provided vital assistance to thousands of North Carolinians, poor budgeting practices, data quality issues, and insufficient budget and vendor oversight led to prolonged hardship for many disaster survivors, and a $297 million bailout from the State to keep recovery efforts ongoing.
“The unfortunate truth of this report is the response from North Carolina to Hurricanes Matthew and Florence was a disaster. When government decides to focus on administrative procedures ahead of boots on the ground, hurricane victims get hurt,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek. “North Carolina must implement a long-term, comprehensive plan that can be used for decades to come. As state leaders, we owe it to the people of North Carolina to come to the table, institute accountability, and map out a transparent and permanent strategy to respond to hurricanes.”
Fast Facts:
As of April 2025, HRP received 11,654 applications and 3,522 projects have been completed.
NCORR managed the HRP with three different systems: North Carolina Financial System, Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting, and Salesforce.
Applicants had to go through eight steps to complete the application process. Each step took an average of at least 100 days. Grant determination took an average of 936 days.
Key Findings:
Poor Budgeting Practices: NCORR did not have a comprehensive assessment of total disaster related need. This approach, combined with inconsistent reconciliation across financial and program management systems, meant NCORR did not know the full cost of recovery until after the application period closed.
Unreliable Data and Delays: NCORR spent more than $25.4 million on design and implementation of the Salesforce platform, but incomplete and inconsistent data in the program’s tracking systems led to operational challenges and delayed recovery for many families. Some families spent over 1,400 days in temporary housing.
Insufficient Budget Control and Monitoring: NCORR had no structured financial roadmap or ongoing budget monitoring. They operated reactively, making spending decisions based on available funds rather than comprehensive needs or performance targets. Inconsistent reconciliation indicates nearly $785 million in public funds was disbursed to vendors without a single, reconciled source of financial truth or robust oversight.
Inadequate Vendor Oversight: Only one of six program administration contracts included key performance indicators. In some cases, NCORR reported that payments were made without full verification of work completed.
OSA included several long-term recommendations and short-term actions to be taken to strengthen North Carolina’s response to natural disasters. Notably, OSA recommends creation of a new partnership consisting of statewide elected leaders to develop and maintain a comprehensive, long-term disaster recovery plan that ensure continuity, accountability, and resilience across all disaster events.
Long-Term Recommendations
Establishing a Sustainable Outcomes for Long-Term Impact and Disaster Recovery (SOLID) partnership among North Carolina’s Council of State, Department of Public Safety, and Legislature.
Implement robust budget and financial oversight.
Strengthen contract management and oversight.
Implement comprehensive data governance frameworks.
Short-Term Actions
Enhance budgeting and financial oversight.
Strengthen contract management.
Improve data integrity and reporting.
OSA consulted with NCORR management through the assessment and after completion of the report. NCORR’s response to this report is included in its entirety.
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