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Houston and Harris County cost for Katrina relief efforts may exceed $50 million

Houston Chronicle:

The massive operation to care for thousands of Katrina victims in Houston isn't being done on the cheap.

The tab for the city of Houston and Harris County already is expected to top $50 million, officials said Tuesday.

Taxpayers, however, needn't worry that the city and county tax rates will rise to cover relief costs, officials said. The city and county will be seeking full reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Bill White and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels have instructed all departments to save receipts and track relief expenses with a traveling salesman's exactitude.

City officials said they plan to seek $39 million in federal funding to cover relief costs, both those incurred and those anticipated. That likely will be only the first of several requests, said White spokesman Frank Michel.

"We are, essentially, running a small to medium-sized city within a city," Michel said Tuesday.

The bill on the county side is expected to be at least $15 million by month's end. And that figure is expected to grow substantially as social services providers and others continue to help victims in the coming weeks.

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