By Murray Wennerlund published 1-4-2023 updated 1-4-2023
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Appeal
LA
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Dear Homeowner,
You are receiving this notification because you have not closed or executed your grant award offered by Restore Louisiana.
Please note that you MUST execute your grant agreement by [Month, Day, Year] or the grant offered will be rescinded and you will no longer be able to participate in the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program.
Please reach out to your assigned Case Manager as soon as possible to schedule your closing:
Case Manager Name: [SNIP]
Case Manager Email: [SNIP]
Case Manager Phone: [SNIP]
Sincerely,
The Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program
When the Restore Louisiana program created this letter / email for homeowners state managers discussed if they should include your right to appeal. From a top down management discission it was ordered that no letter that leads to grant termination would offer how to appeal the determination. This practice was created in July of 2019 when 7 letters were created to terminate over 3,000 grants to offset the costs of the newly processed SBA DOB policy.
You have the right to appeal all state policy and eligibility rulings.
As published in 2019 the "Restore Louisiana Game Plan" is the same today as it was in 2019:
How to file your appeal.
The site states 60 days to appeal, the date time starts from the date on your letter or the email you received. From the appeals page you might not find the actual category that covers your appeal. For not closing on your grant or for any grant that is rescinded it will be eligibility you are appealing. But you can't just come up with any appeal reason, you can't use empathy or that you're a disaster victim as grounds for your appeal. You can and should always fight policy with specific information that directly impacts policy.
Example appeal: Cause: "Grant closing date is Wednesday, January 4, 2023. Your grant will be rescinded by close of business."
Appeal Reply: "Local permitting office has delayed issuing permits and stated that plans have not be reviewed."
Appeal Reply: "Several contractors have been contacted requesting a quote for repairs. We are awaiting for licensing and insurance information from each at this time."
Each appeal reply fix the required tasks and the program knows (not understands) that contractors and municipalities can delay your grant closing because of the documents needed at the time of your grant closing and execution. It is your responsibility to present a short, clear, logical appeal. DO NOT tell the state you are a disaster victim and just need more time. The state uses a spreadsheet to track progress and EMPATHY is not a dropdown menu selection in the states DRGR database.
Editors note: Case Workers appear to be titled Case Managers which would match the states policy that any manager can find a homeowner not cooperative and rescind their grant award and drop them from the program. This information was publish in Feb. 2019 and offered by the lead legal adviser for the state of Louisiana OCD-DRU.