Damage from Hurricane Florence (Photo: NC Emergency Management)
Maggie Battaglin, the director of mitigation at ReBuild NC and who oversaw the chronically underfunded Strategic Buyout Program, resigned today, Newsline has confirmed.
ReBuild NC declined to comment on Battaglin’s resignation.
The Strategic Buyout Program is separate from the Homeowner Recovery Program, which, because of fiscal and operational mismanagement, has stranded thousands of hurricane survivors in motels, apartments and campers for as long as three and half years.
Battaglin traveled throughout eastern North Carolina to lead public meetings about the buyout program and was often the face of ReBuild NC in that context. She was well-known among local government officials.
The buyout program pays homeowners to move out of flood-prone zones, based on the current appraised market value of the property. Additionally, homeowners who live in the buyout zone may qualify for an other financial benefits to help them move to affordable less-risky areas. Sixteen counties in eastern North Carolina have HUD-designated buyout zones.
Low-income residents might live in flood plains because the land is cheap and otherwise undesirable. And a history of racist zoning policies often forced non-white people to live in low-lying, flood-prone areas.
Initially, the buyout program received $182 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. But in early 2023, ReBuild NC Director Laura Hogshead reallocated $60 million of that money to other programs within the agency — a full third of the original funding.
Battaglin’s resignation is the second high-profile departure at the embattled agency this year. Chief Finance Officer Jim Klinger left in January, around the time the governor’s office assigned Pryor Gibson to monitor ReBuild NC’s operations. Gibson is a senior legislative advisor for Gov. Roy Cooper.
Klingler now works for ICF, a ReBuild NC contractor.
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