[FoCHAT] CHATNews: Reality Check #1-LA State Official Paul Rainwater's Double Standard on Estimates of Damage

Sat Jan 16 22:40:21 CST 2010

CHATNews: 
Dear CHAT Members, 
Here is Reality Check #1. These Reality Checks will alternate with the Public Records Saga and will be posted at our website chatushome.com. 
Reality Check #1. LA State Official Paul Rainwater on Estimates of Hurricane Damage vs. the State’s Lack of Fair Application of Damage Rules for LA Citizens 
“We don't want these federal funds just because we want them, but because we are due them,' said Paul Rainwater, Gov. Bobby Jindal's deputy chief of staff.” 
The double standard has been raised to new heights in the pleas of Louisiana state officials for federal post-hurricane rebuilding funds vs. the state’s inconsistent and unfair grant-downsizing for Road Home Program (RH) applicants.  At issue here is whether Charity Hospital in New Orleans was more than 50% damaged by Hurricane Katrina’s 3 feet of water in a building that has more than 13 stories. A damage assessment of over 50% trigger FEMA (and the Road Home Program) treating the damage as 100%. 
My comments about excerpts from the Jan. 16 articles below are in red. 

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2010/01/charity_hospital_arbitration_r.html 
Charity Hospital arbitration ruling promised within 60 days 
By Jonathan Tilove 
January 15, 2010, 7:59PM 
FEMA has offered $150 million in compensation for Hurricane Katrina damages to Charity Hospital.The week-long federal arbitration hearing on how much FEMA owes Louisiana for damage done to Charity Hospital by Hurricane Katrina ended at midday Friday. 
We don't want these federal funds just because we want them, but because we are due them,' said Paul Rainwater, Gov. Bobby Jindal's deputy chief of staff. 
As Mr. Rainwater should know because until last month he was Executive Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority and in charge of the Road Home Program (RH), there are over 22,000 RH applicants who have tried to get mistakes in their grant calculations fixed and only a small fraction of those people have gotten reasonable responses. 
Obviously, hurricane victims who were shortchanged by RH are due correction of mistakes in grants promised to them for repairing their devastated homes. They were led to expect fair treatment but thousands got award notices telling them one amount of grant award only to find much later that the amount was unfairly decreased and staff of ICF International, HGI, or First American Title Company often told them to take it or leave it. 
LSU, which ran the hospital, and the state contend that they are due the full replacement value of Charity of $491,884,000. The state is depending on that money to help pay to build a new, state-of-the-art hospital to replace Charity…. 
To state and local officials along the Gulf Coast, FEMA has taken a pinched view of what the Stafford Act allows, slowing the recovery by nickel-and-diming communities struggling to come back from the worst disaster in American history. 
To FEMA officials, in the Charity proceeding and others, state and local entities in Louisiana are trying to take advantage of the disaster to get more than they deserve, to get paid for the pre-existing deteriorated conditions of public buildings and infrastructure. 
RH applicants are not asking for repair of pre-existing damage, only for funds to repair damage unequivocally caused by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita or the ensuing floods. 
"That accusatory tone can get a little aggravating, especially when we've gone through four hurricanes," said Paul Rainwater, Gov. Bobby Jindal's deputy chief of staff, who as head of the Louisiana Recovery Authority has been the state's point man in its dealings with FEMA. 
Rainwater said he grew weary of FEMA explaining, in their denials of claims, that they are the "stewards of the taxpayer dollars." 
Please read some applicants comments below about RH to see really justified aggravation and weariness of government unfairness. 
"Well, guess what, so are we," Rainwater would reply. "We don't want these federal funds just because we want them, but because we are due them." 
Well guess what, so are RH applicants! The applicants are even more obviously due these funds in one-story, camelback, and two story houses with 5-12 feet of flooding and nonetheless declared less than 50% damaged by state-run RH with the approval of state officials. 
Mr. Rainwater had turned a deaf ear to a St. Bernard RH applicant whose camelback home stewed for weeks. Although the water reached 12 feet inside her home and there was less than 30% of the square footage on her second floor, he let stand a RH decision to declare her home less than 50% damaged despite homes around her being declared more than 50% damaged. 
This violates a RH rule but that did not count in discussions in person with this applicant, CHAT leaders, and Richard Gray, a leader of OCD. At this meeting Gray said in the presence of the new Exec. Dir. of LRA, Robin Keegan, that all homes that were two stories, even if camelback, would be declared less than 50% damaged no matter how much flooding and other damage they sustained. 
In fact, that is one of the many inconsistencies of the program because in the early days of RH, Mike Spletto, former head of Housing for OCD, told me that the cutoff for 50% damage was 3 feet of flood water. Moreover, many applicants in 2-story or camelback homes who had the luck to have their grants processed early were told that they had more than 50% damage. In addition, applicants who had demolished their home were automatically declared to have more than 50% damage, no matter how large their home was. 
It is against HUD rules to have inconsistencies but HUD closes its eyes for inconsistencies that hurt RH applicants. 

This issue of the state’s percent damage calculation was raised in two letters to the editor. 

http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2010/01/view_from_the_second_floor_a_l.html 
View from the second floor: A letter to the editor
By Letters to the Editor  January 13, 2010, 1:28AM
Re: "Charity Hospital dispute in judges' hands," Page 1, Jan. 11.
What a joke -- and it would be funny, except for the fact it exposes the hypocrisy and callous nature of state officials who oversaw its Road Home contractor. 
The state is claiming that Charity Hospital suffered more than 50 percent damage because the electrical, plumbing, air conditioning and heating would have to be replaced. 
With more than seven feet of water in my Lakeview home, all of the above was also true for me -- yet I was told by the Road Home that my house was only 30 percent damaged. 
Why? Because I had a second floor.
How many floors does Charity Hospital have?'
Paul Saputo Sr.
New Orleans

http://blog.nola.com/letterstotheeditor/2009/09/homeowners_victims_of_lra_doub.html#more 
Homeowners victims of LRA double standard
Posted by Letters to the Editor September 03, 2009 3:55PM
Re: "Oct. 30 deadline on arbitration: New federal rules may affect Charity dispute, " Page A2, Sept. 1. There is a double standard in the thinking of the Louisiana Recovery Authority -- one standard for homeowner disaster victims and another for state, organizational, and commercial interests in a major building project. 
In the article about LRA's dispute over hurricane-flood damage to the 20-story Charity Hospital , the claim is that the structure, which sustained flood water in the basement and about 3 feet of water on the first floor, is more than 50 percent damaged. In that case, funding from FEMA for replacement, not just repair, is justified. 
However, in LRA's oversight and rule-setting for the Road Home Program, homeowners in two-story or camel-back homes are routinely told that they do not have more than 50 percent damage even if flood waters reached 8 to 12 feet in their homes. 
Equally discordant is LRA's assertion that its appeal of FEMA's damage assessment should be considered by an independent panel unaffiliated with FEMA. 
Road Home applicants' disputes or appeals are decided by the contractor for the program or one of its subcontractors. 
Secondary and final appeals are decided by the state review panel, including members of LRA and other state agencies with Road Home oversight. 
So, LRA invokes independent appeals in its quest for FEMA money for replacing storm-damaged Charity Hospital . But Road Home applicants cannot get an independent appeal in their attempt to rebuild their storm-devastated homes. 
Melanie Ehrlich, Founder, Citizens' Road Home Action Team, New Orleans 

 Here are a few voices of applicants entreating LRA and OCD for some fairness in application of RH rules, including estimates of damage. 
#1. Our home was totally demolished by both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There was not a house for the person to see. Upon my conversations with the people from road home, they told me either that they could not find our file or that it was in case evaluation department. Then they said that they found that we were ineligible. They told us that we should have received a letter informing us of the reason within thirty days. (That was more than 6 months ago) the letter came within the last two weeks and was dated within the week of which it arrived. I sent a letter of appeal along with a stack of paperwork and they said that we were ineligible. I think that the Road Home Program is very unfair and just inadequate. At our initial and only meeting with a Road Home person in Slidell, La the 
person told us that we would qualify for about 40,ooo.oo But then later they tell us we are not approved for anything. Where people in the parish where we reside now have received thousands of dollars and have had lesser losses and they were also insured. I do not know of many people who resided in Plaquemines Parish who recieved funds from the Road Home. Most of them did not receive Insurance proceeds either. If they did get money from the Road home program again it was tens of thousands less than they were initially told that they would receive. How in the earth is a person supposed to replace a home with $7000.00? 

#2. In December 2006, I brought 3 copies of check stubs and the Compensation grant info sheet which determined 
that I was eligible for the grant to the Baton Rouge Goodwood ... In March 2007 I learned my check stubs were lost and Ms. X instructed me to turn in new check stubs instead resubmitting copies of the previous check stubs to be able to go to closing in 2 weeks. I faxed the copies of new check stubs and once received Ms X informed me that I was no longer eligible for the compensation grant based on a projected annual income that was over $14,000.00 more than actual salary made. Before going to closing…, I disputed those results in person with Mr. Y … who determined that my husband's 2006 W-2 form would be used for income verification because the original copies of check stubs that were lost by Road Home personnel should have been used to determine my eligibility and the W-2 form would show that annual salary for 2006. However, the Compensation grant was not included in the total award amount at closing and currently, I am still disputing my
 eligibility to receive the compensation ... 

#3. We went to closing on May 15, where we received the grant of $2,939.28 . THE ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION 
GRANT was offered on the gold letter, but when we went to closing we did receive it and no one knew why. We begin 
calling again no one knew why we did no receive the grant. In August 2007, we received a call to bring documentation of our income. We brought that information to the center in Chalmette the same day. We were told we qualified according to the income scale the resolution staff used. We were told we we’re in POST CLOSING. We haven't heard anything since then, except being told by telephone and letter that we had not had our initial interview,because I had applied on the internet, which is not true. We went to the call center in Kenner, Nov. 26.2006. A person does answer the phone and tells me I'm in post closing, and I should talk to them. One problem the number for, post closing, ask for information which is given but no one ever returns my call. I never received any response from my appeals letters. 

#4. I and my father are both still waiting for Road Home assistance. I got a call this week 
from someone at road home inquiring as to my width and length of my house. This is after 
11 appraisals by the Road Home Program. I talk to people all of the time and they just 
can't live with the drama of the Road Home program for years. My mother died waiting on 
her grant. No doubt lots of others have given up or died waiting to get thier grants. 
My observation is that every time I think I see the end in site, the Road Home changes 
the rules and puts me through more frustration. 

#5. My home was flooded to the ceiling of a single story home and the road home is trying to say that my house is less than 50% damaged…. we have no other income [other than retirement benefits] and we have gone through our savings trying to fix our home. There were mistakes after mistakes when we applied for roadhome. … It stated that our home was liveable. we live in eastern new orleans where the water was 9 feet my car was under water and we could not even get back in our area 
until a month and a half before mayor nagin allowed us to even visit our property. 

You tell me how can our home be liveable. I we also told by fema to get a mechanic for my car and get it repaired. Since the everything went down hill…. 

 They sent out another 2 inspectors who agreed with us, our home was totally unlivable…We had 5 
feet of water in our home for katrina and rita 1 1/2 months. 4 trees from other people property on our garage, shed ,backdoor and in our yard.  My neighbors can’t believe we got no money. All of these house are on the same street, same amount of water. When the next inspector came out, we 
had pictures of the damage as we had before, but he took a picture of the front of the house and left. Report came back denied. 

I appealed and appealed not counting twice before they lost our paperwork. … They .. told me I still had too much insurance. denied. I appealed showed them the difference in their rule about personal property, landscape, detached garages , shed should not be in the total but ours was included…, plus the square footage of flooring was not right nor the footage of sheetrock, numbers of doors windows all of these thing made a difference in the totals for our home. They had me do all of these things over with CAD and they never looked at it. They just sent me around 
and around in circles. 

The appeal papers came back so quickly it would make your head spin. I then appealed to the state. That too came back quickly denied, I had insurance. 

I asked for elevation since they were giving enough that I could elevate and was told to appeal for elevation. I appealed and within 2 weeks I got denied back. I was told since I did not get road home money I was denied. You knew I did not get the money in the first place, why send me through appeals. 

Now you have money to give away, why not give it to those who got nothing, who appealed and stop punishing us because we sacrificed to pay insurance. We have not finished our home. .. 
Please have compassion on your citizens who are taxpayers, elderly law-abiding citizens. thanks 

Thank you for sticking with CHAT for fairness and, when the state uses up all the Road Home money, for accountability. 

Melanie Ehrlich 
Co-Chairman, Citizens’ Road Home Action Team (CHAT) 
http://chatushome.com 
Member, LRA Housing Task Force 
Comments: 
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2009/09/the-far-too-long-and-winding-road-home-program.html 
or 
http://www.chatushome.com/blog/?page_id=70 

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