The state is giving ICF two weeks to resolve issues with over 600 Road Home applicants or it will withhold $3.3 million. In a press release yesterday, the Louisiana Recovery Authority announced that the Road Home contractor, ICF International, needs to correct 607 files ICF contends are closed, or the state will withhold $5,495 for each unresolved applicant. The deadline is set for April 24. The state contends that it will also withhold $800,000 on May 8 if ICF can't prove that it "properly closed files in resolution from 2007."
"It is critical that ICF follow each federal guideline and Road Home regulation to the letter of the law and provide necessary documentation in all applicant files. The American taxpayers provided the state with billions in rebuilding funds and Louisiana cannot afford to squander their trust," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA). "We will work with ICF to ensure that all necessary regulations are met; however, moving forward the company will not be granted months-long extensions to meet the very basic expectations of its contract."
"We will restore public trust in the Road Home program by fixing lingering problems, being firm with the contractor and injecting transparency into the process," Rainwater said.