[StBernard] FEMA Trailers-St. Bernard Recovery

[Westley Annis]

 Below is the Times-Picayune article with Eddie Sapir claiming that before
it's over, it could cost FEMA/U.S. Government $120,000 per trailer, so why
not just give the victims the cach to recover..Makes sense to me if his
contacts/figures are correct in dealing with the issue...

Jer.

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"While the figures are surprising, they are considerably lower than those
being bandied about the city these days. City Councilman Eddie Sapir said a
developer and some others had whispered fantastic per-trailer FEMA sums to
him. 

"By the time the contractor is paid, the mileage to haul it here is paid,
the gas is paid, everything, it's around $120,000," Sapir said. 

In fact, Sapir made that charge at the City Council meeting Thursday,
suggesting that the federal government was paying outrageous amounts for
trailers when handing over the cash would be a better use of taxpayer
dollars -- not to mention, a more efficient use. 

"I'm just a country boy, but what I don't understand is why they don't just
give the people $121,000 and let them start rebuilding their homes," Sapir
said. 

On Friday, he declined to say who provided him with the figures but insisted
he wanted only to spark discussion, not point fingers. 

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