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The House Committee on County Affairs met on June 6 to hear invited and public testimony regarding interim charges related to natural disaster response and county level ordinance-making authority.

This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. This report is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.

 

The committee took up both charges together

Interim Charge #1: Examine how emergency response activities are organized, funded, and coordinated. Review the impact of natural disasters on county finances. Identify any deficiencies in authority for the most populous counties related to infrastructure planning, emergency response, and recovery. Explore ways to improve efficiencies and manage costs while protecting public safety. Additionally, study the relationship between the state, counties, non-governmental organizations, and churches in preparing for and responding to Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath, and determine if preparedness plans are adequate.

 

Interim Charge #2: Evaluate whether counties have the necessary ordinance-making and enforcement authority to deal with flood risk in unincorporated rural and suburban areas of Texas. Additionally, examine whether counties have adequate resources and authority to ensure that new development in unincorporated areas is not susceptible to flooding.

 

Terry Tatum, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

  • $6.1 million in estimated damage to the campus due to Harvey
  • Roof damage is most significant due to wind event
  • Working to improve disaster plan and recovery plan with all departments and community partners
  • Hunter – Thanked Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi for hosting the hearing. Discussed ongoing rebuilding efforts post Harvey

 

Burt Mills, Aransas County Judge

  • County’s response to Harvey has included many lessons learned
    • A comprehensive plan is being established within the county
  • Long term recovery should be from the bottom up, led by those who were on the ground and felt the effects
    • State and feds should be supporting the needs of the county
  • Various requirements for procurement during an emergency slows the response and the recovery
  • Does not believe that counties have the necessary ordinance making authority
    • Should allow for counties to apply common sense approach to response and planning
  • Hunter – described his personal experience with Harvey and the witness
  • Uresti – discussed his personal experience with Harvey recovery
  • Springer – discussed city and county employee’s extreme effort during Harvey
  • Biedermann – spoke to issues that the state can work toward versus what are federal issues, specifically mentioning tax base issues
  • Coleman – the possibility of issuing GO Bonds to aid those counties affected by Harvey which are not able to afford the necessary rebuilding or mitigation
  • Hunter – the issue of property taxes will be a major issue worked on by the legislature
  • Springer – the people that are over 65 with taxes capped, does the appraisal district consider a rebuild house a new house, and do the taxes reset? We should keep that in mind as this issue is discussed.
  • Biedermann – that is extra income for the county, it is a two-sided issue
  • Coleman – the legislature can do anything it has the will to do
  • Neave – mentioned filed legislation in the last session related to property tax increase after natural disasters
  • Coleman – discussed alternative methods for achieving the same outcome related to property tax

 

Rudy Madrid, Kleberg County Judge

  • Reviewed emergency management team planning as Harvey approached
  • Sudden storms were an eye-opener to the preparations needed for a storm like Harvey that includes very intricate logistics and response
  • Lessons learned include: set asides for emergency management and natural disasters
  • Many people purchased property in flood prone areas out of necessity
  • Coleman – intending to file a bill related to purchasing of property and rentals and the need to show flood risk and history
  • Need a master drainage plan in the county that includes coordination with cities.
    • Need to find grant money to do that
  • Need to enlarge and renovate ditches and trenches which will require easements
    • Need additional grant money to complete mitigation projects like this
  • Coleman – that would not be FEMA funded projects, but there could be ways for the state to aid counties with issues like this
  • Reviewed immediate response and recovery issues related to government assistance and food stamps
  • Coleman – discussed D-SNAP issues and what is allowable to be paid for through the program. Much more coordination needs to be done to make it easier to use as needed
  • Coleman – these are the issues that need to be included in the report. Requested a list of specific and unique county issues dealt with during Harvey

 

Christopher Boyce, Nueces County Emergency Management Coordinator

  • Described the role of emergency management coordinators
  • Each emergency management director for cities within the county coordinate with each other in disaster situations with shared decision making and cooperation
  • The county judge has authority by law, but cooperation is needed
  • Evacuation is an effort that requires extreme cooperation and takes at least 48 hours to complete in Nueces County
  • There was no direct death from Harvey in the coastal bend because of preparedness and outreach to the community
  • Texas counties do not have much in the way of emergency response equipment causing the need to partner with other resources and agencies
  • Had almost 35,000 people participated in D-SNAP, one issue was that it was issued and organized by last name
  • Coleman- discussed the mismanagement of the D-SNAP program after Harvey
  • Federal partners did help, but it took time
  • Many issues with insurance arose, full FEMA assistance will not make anybody whole
  • Hunter – mentioned that insurance is an issue that will need to be reviewed, and glad that county emergency management preached that as part of preparedness
  • Reviewed issues with procurement and very difficult and confusing rules associated
  • Coleman – what is more important, accountability or rebuilding?
    • Finding that it cost more to ensure compliance than was lost by bad actors
  • Recommends continuing to support local command and control, supporting mitigation projects, increase opportunity and funding for training
  • Coleman – discussed with Uresti waivers associated with Harvey recovery including schools

 

Desiree Voth, San Patricio County Commissioners Court

  • Highlights emergency preparation as a positive after Harvey
  • Debris removal and costs were a negative
    • Uncertainty over bidding process made it very difficult to confidently move forward
  • Small number of county staff meant that everybody does multiple roles and was difficult to manage
  • Local private foundations funded specific positions for the next two years. Without that the county would not be able to have those positions
  • County overall is improving in emergency management and preparedness
  • County does not have the authority to do anything about flooding or permitting, but does want the authority
  • Coleman – understands the issue with not having the needed resources
  • Working on budgets and unsure what will be able to be replaced or used for mitigation because of tight finances at the county

 

John Metz, National Weather Service

  • 13 offices serve all of Texas
  • Office are 24/7-365
  • Discussed historical weather threats is Texas
    • Written testimony includes statistics for severity of storms
    • Average 13 days per year of damaging winds
  • Weather warnings are issued for the protection of life from those types of weather events
  • 1/3 of all hurricanes to hit Texas are major hurricanes in category 3 or 4
  • Average major hurricane every 30-40 years
  • Threat of hurricane is not limited to coast
    • Category 1 type wind could go inland as far as Dallas
  • Written testimony shows hurricane forecasting models for Harvey
    • Harvey was unique because of its rapid intensification process
    • Only about 20 hours of possible preparation for Harvey
  • Tracking and prediction of hurricanes has gotten much better, but intensity forecasting has yet to catch up to other factors in quality and precision forecasting
    • Efforts are being taken on the national level to improve intensity forecasting
  • Coleman – was there a lot of storm surge that caused damage?
    • There are tools that allowed for forecasting and warning of storm surge
    • Harvey did not produce a massive surge in the area because of its rapid intensification
  • Every major hurricane has hit Texas in August and September
    • Current models and predictions are important but do not tell us here if there will be a storm event or not
  • Coleman – preparation includes storm prediction that helps identify evacuation timing and direction. We need to keep in mind that Texas has grown so much, and the congestion of evacuation routes has become and will continue to be a problem
  • Coleman – storm prediction has improved but is not perfect
    • That is true, and it will continually get better to help with emergency planning

 

Johnny Hipp, Nueces County Hospital District

  • The intensification of the storm caught a lot of people off guard
  • Local area began to close services leading up to the storm
  • After the storm it took a while before facilities could open back up
  • 18 counties in regional healthcare partnership
    • Aransas pass hospital has not reopened yet
    • Recommends gap funding from the state until FEMA funding gets in to rebuild the Hospital
  • There is a set aside for jail mental health funding
  • Using non-tax funding initially for jail diversion services to keep mental health patients out of the jails
    • Tried this years ago but the federal funding dried up
    • Had been very beneficial
  • Coleman – most members understand that mental health is an issue that has to be addressed
  • Uresti – there is a diversion program in Bexar County and have run into issues with not having a clinician available, 24 hours per day, recommends looking into the Bexar program

 

Mike Davis, Nueces County Behavioral Health Center

  • Working toward mental health jail diversion
  • Looked into many other counties programs and combined best practices into the Nueces County model
  • Coleman – discussed potential funding sources for programs like this, recommends contacting his office for additional information
  • Coleman – Need to make sure we also work on the trauma pieces of this, people often don’t realize trauma

 

Witness Unidentified, “Represents Coastal Plains”

  • When Harvey hit Rockport, closed children and adult clinics in Rockport, Aransas Pass, other clinics and administrative facilities in other areas
  • Closures largely due to utilities not being available & not damage to buildings
  • Prioritized bringing Portland administrative facility back up to return service to the area
  • Harvey is not an “equal opportunity” destroyer, newer construction fared much better than older construction
  • Subsidized housing in Rockport was also totaled, storm has had an inordinate impact on persons with mental illness; damage was continuous and extensive
  • Trying to limit patient stays, putting intensive measures in place when patients are discharged to reduce recidivism
  • Worked with GPISD to provide counseling and other services to displaced children
  • Had questions on why our district was not supporting Port Aransas as well, had to work around county lines; mostly informative meetings
  • Coleman – I think you have done an excellent job, all of us are working on trying to get trauma bills passed, legislature wasn’t ready for this concept as they did not understand
  • Coleman – Hurricane Harvey and trauma resulting from it will likely mean legislators understand the issue better
  • Coleman – People aren’t looking for their in-kind matches, several areas have left allocations on the table; looking for opportunities to assist recipients in obtaining match dollars already available
  • Coleman – My own city/district is not taking advantage of funds, very frustrating
  • Coleman discusses the work the legislature has done, states that more should be thanking Rep. hunter for the good work he has done, and the other work done to assist those affected by Harvey

 

Local Entities Coordinating with Charitable Organizations

 

Beth Tatum & Warren Phipps, Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group

  • Bylaws cover 11 counties of the coastal region, 6 of which were in the disaster designation
  • Goal is to support recovery efforts by serving as liaison with FEMA, organizing staff, performing limited reconstruction and repair
  • Expended funds as of May 2017, voted to go into dormancy in June 2017; AAR was put on hold to respond to Harvey
  • As case manager, charged with equitably allocating donations and funding to affected families
  • Average affected family has ~$27k in unmet needs, coastal bend needs should not be forgotten
  • Have 108 ongoing construction projects, estimated need is $2.95 million, damage largely caused by wind, large number of these projects are funded through private donations and grants
  • Add to long term recovery partner list continually, attempting to eliminate barriers keeping homeowners from returning to livable houses
  • Highlights construction methods used in rebuilding and repairing homes
  • Recommendations
    • Need for statutory relief in appraisal code, from immediate increased property taxes to survivors
    • Propose an exemption of deferred ramp up for homeowners who have already suffered financially
    • Urgent need for moderate to low-income housing, our organization will not get involved with rental business
    • Gap in survivor assistance for those that rented housing
    • Should be an expectation that FEMA shares casefiles with local long-term recovery organization, seamless hand off would keep homeowners from needing to reapply; some data was lost in current transfer process
    • Lack of suitable healthy housing that can house survivors until they can return home
  • Long-term recovery organizations explore opportunities to provided needed services, do not put cash directly into survivor hands
  • Need assistance in identifying those who need recovery assistance
  • Springer – How many individuals are housed at your dormitory now?
    • 55 max, houses mission teams largely coming from out of state to assist on recovery projects
    • Multiple other spaces around the state have volunteered space to house volunteer teams
  • Springer – Is there anything else from your standpoint that could assist? Inspections? Building codes? Things that could blockade rebuild work
    • We have worked through a lot of these initial blockages, one of those being the requirement to conform with new TWIA standard on >50% roof repair, worked through this by contracting with a professional engineer who was familiar
    • We had difficulty in the experiment between FEMA and the GLO and administration of programs for short-term housing
  • Springer – How important is it for the council of government to have immediate knowledge of affected individuals to process FEMA paperwork?
    • There is a glitch in that FEMA paperwork is highly personal confidential info, putting this into government agencies’ hands draws a lot of scrutiny
    • FEMA is very hesitant to provide whole data files
  • Neave – Texas State Building and Construction Trades Council can be helpful in coordinating with builders, affiliated with AFL-CIO and currently running training in Houston to develop skillsets needed
    • Would appreciate any info on private foundations and assistance with receiving grant funds
  • Springer – What percentage of funding comes from counties you serve versus outside?
    • All funding comes from private donations, not sure on sources, but most were within Texas
  • Uresti – Had legislation last session that could set up a payment plan for homeowners, could be useful for some individuals
  • Biedermann – Who vetted you, how does that process work?
    • We use national databases and guidelines for vetting assistance
    • Private partners helped develop the current structure of our organizations
  • Biedermann – Great to see organizations organizing without government involvement
  • Springer – One of the problems we have is the support during the initial stages, but the lack of support 6 months in the future; often not timely to have 20k volunteers showing up in the first days after

 

Deacon Mark Arnold, Diocese of Corpus Christi

  • Worked with state and local agencies, attended meetings, etc. to prepare for support after Harvey
  • Worked extensively to feed, support, and house individuals in the 12-county area the diocese serves
  • Lack resources to be able to provide large scale assistance, would like to be able to reach out to others more effectively to fill gaps
  • Had thousands of volunteers coming in to help out in our areas, large need to feed these individuals; would be good to have defined areas to be able to send teams
  • Diocese sustained $35 million in facility damages, these facilities serve the community & applied to FEMA for assistance in rebuilding
  • Application and follow-up process was very complicated
  • Would like to be able to pre-screen and identify locations that could provide services and resources for food service
    • Were told to vacate certain areas where thousands of people were being served
  • Diocese sustained damage to 314 properties as a result of Harvey
    • Asked for resources to re-establish those locations for future emergency relief services
  • Some issues in receiving assistance because the bishop owns the properties in the corporate structure
  • To date the catholic diocese has not received any funding from TDEM or FEMA
  • Streamlining paperwork processes would greatly contribute to the recovery process
    • Too much overbearing regulation to stop fraud
  • Springer – had issues getting local officials up to speed with language and paperwork. Perhaps there should be a deployable group of people in Austin to come in and help get local entities through the process
  • Noted issues with getting “houses of worship” approved for grant funding even after being approved by FEMA
    • Noted so much has changed since Rita and Ike in terms of paperwork
  • Discussed debris removal from around church properties

 

Henry Van de Putte, American Red Cross

  • Works in the Gulf Coast region
  • Utilizes volunteers within the community
  • Primarily feed, shelter, council and operates blood drives
  • Works with many Agencies and departments on mass-care services as well as other charitable services
  • Vast majority of out of state volunteers came from bordering states
  • More than 20,000 new volunteers signed up following Harvey
  • Discussed statistics of emergency response in Texas in the months following Harvey
  • Vast majority of predetermined shelter agreements are either within schools or faith-based communities
    • Red Cross relies on those entities to provide services
  • Now working with a variety of entities to provide financial assistance, community-based recovery services
  • Need to better integrate technology to provide for real time updates and communication
  • Need to better pre-locate supplies for disasters
  • Springer – agreed that the need for volunteers is high and the state needs to make it as easy as possible for people to become volunteers
  • Working toward more transparency on realistic capabilities in various parts of the state for different types of events
  • Uresti – thanked the red cross for their work

 

Public Testimony

 

Gene Seaman, Former Texas State Representative

  • Recommends: better communication for the community to know which agency oversees what aspect of response or recovery
  • TWIA – multiple issues with insurance claims processes. It should be the insurer of last resort not first resort
  • Tax appraisals on refurbished homes following Harvey needs to be addressed
  • Springer – discussed the complicated issue of addressing the tax appraisal system to account for multiple scenarios while allowing the counties to fund the necessary projects

 

Brien Nicolau, Jim Wells County ESD 1

  • Serves all of Jim Wells County
  • Described services provided by the volunteer fire department
  • Created MOU with other entities and counties to respond to area incidents so small response units are over taxed with each event
  • Operating budget of $90,000 annually
  • Would like to add additional training for staff
  • ESDs are a great value to residents
  • Biedermann – noted that the proper role of government is safety and those are the things that we need to protect

 

Connie Rivera, Texas Society of Architects 

  • Discussed volunteers deployed to local governments to conduct safety assessments
  • Also worked to assess extent of damage
  • Logged over 950 volunteer hours
  • Biggest challenge was interfacing in a timely manner with the local contact

 

Jim Allison, County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

  • Regarding property taxes and potential relief, there was a workgroup convened by Representative Shine
  • Group is leaning toward a method that grants a reduction based on FEMA disaster rating
  • Would not result in necessarily diminished income for the county based on timing
  • Struggling with counties that are already at maximum tax rate and how it will affect schools
  • Details are still being considered and worked out