FEMA money: used for this?

Via the Times-Picayune:

Facing a steady barrage of criticism and now a lawsuit from owners of flooded property, Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard has launched his most overt — and possibly most expensive — public relations venture since Hurricane Katrina, an attempt to explain his decisions during the storm and to lay out plans for the parish’s future protection.

In four full-page ads in The Times-Picayune costing $38,000 total, Broussard’s administration discusses, in its own words, the steps it took before the Aug. 29 landfall and its plans for how to staff pump stations and fortify Jefferson’s drainage system for future hurricanes, said Greg Buisson, a political consultant to Broussard who has been working as an administration spokesman.

In the aftermath of the catastrophe, the direct communication likely aims to serve dual purposes: to educate the public on policies rarely discussed in stable times, and to temper political fires easily stoked in an atmosphere of silence, longtime observers of Louisiana politics said.

[…]

The cost of the ads, Buisson said, could be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, though FEMA spokesman Mike McCormick said that while services such as debris removal and fire response will be repaid fully by the agency, “I’ve never heard of a category that would cover” such government advertising.

So there’s a possibility that Broussard’s ads defending him from the criticism he received in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will be paid for – with FEMA money.

Hat tip: Rob at Say Anything, who says:

Wait a minute, why should the taxpayers have to pay to defend Broussard from criticism? Broussard screwed his constituents over once by abandoning his parish in the middle of a disaster, now he’s screwing them over again by using their money to defend himself from their criticism.

Yep. Or at the very least, attempting to.

McQ at Q&O has more.