Business

Contractors to See Payday as FEMA Approves $418 Million in STEP Program Invoices; Release is Win for Bryan Administration

The Federal Emergency Management Agency in a recent letter to the V.I. Housing Finance Authority determined that nearly $418.5 million in invoices received under PW273 for the Sheltering & Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program, known locally as the Emergency Home Repairs Virgin Islands (EHRVI) program were eligible for payment. FEMA's decision represents a victory for the Bryan administration and the Office of Disaster Recovery. Following years of stalled payments to contractors after work was performed, lawsuits were filed by the contractors, some of whom even placed liens on homes they had worked on as part of the STEP program because of nonpayment. Governor Albert Bryan and Darryl Griffith, V.I.H.F.A. executive director, on numerous occasions have responded to concerns about the delay in payment with assurances that all was being done to rectify the issues. Mr. Bryan has even criticized his predecessor for the program, stating that former Governor Kenneth Mapp left a "diabolical...