A dozen mayors from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) are meeting with US government offices in Washington D.C. to discuss the complications they face with federally funded reconstruction projects, nearly nine years after Hurricane María. The mayors, including Jorge González, president of the Association of Mayors and municipal executive of Jayuya, will meet with agencies such as FEMA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, Rural Development, and the EPA.
They will address issues like slow disbursements, permit delays, increased construction costs, and labor shortages. González cited an example where it took two years to receive a permit for a sports complex in his municipality.
The mayors also want to discuss with FEMA the efforts of Cobra, with the support of the Fiscal Oversight Board (JSF), to avoid municipal taxes on federally funded construction projects. The group of mayors includes Eric Bachier, José Hiram Soto, Christian Cortés, O'Brian Vázquez Molina, Julia Nazario, Alfredo 'Papo' Alejandro Carrión, Fabián Arroyo Rodríguez, Jorge Ramos, Jesús Gerardo Márquez, Efraín Franco Barreto, and Ángel González Damudt.