Galveston Paint Bleak Picture of Ike Recovery

Galveston Officials Paint Bleak Picture of Ike Recovery for Lawmakers: "Galveston officials pleaded with state lawmakers Jan. 7 for help in rescuing their island city from the dire financial straits it finds itself in nearly four months after the devastation of Hurricane Ike.
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'We're getting to the point of being desperate for help,' City Manager Steve LeBlanc told members of the House Select Committee on Hurricane Ike during a meeting on the island.

LeBlanc and Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said that despite a hiring freeze and a 3 percent pay cut for all city employees, layoffs are imminent.

The city's property tax revenues are projected to drop by as much as 40 percent.

About 75 percent of the homes in Galveston, about 50 miles southeast of Houston, sustained some damage from Ike's 110-mph winds, rain and 12-foot storm surge on Sept. 13 when the hurricane came ashore near the city.

UTMB leaders told lawmakers that damages to the state's oldest medical school are now estimated to exceed $1 billion. Only about $100 million of that was covered by insurance.

The facility has laid off about 3,000 employees and reduced the number of beds from 550 to 200 since the hurricane.