Rebuilding 'decision team' announced NEW ORLEANS (AP) (wrkf) - A FEMA disaster recovery official is set to help lead a new, state-federal team aimed at resolving funding disputes following the 2005 hurricanes and speeding rebuilding in Louisiana.

Charlie Axton will lead the "decision team."

Sean Smith, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the two sides will prioritize projects and decide how to get them going. The point, he said, is to try to find consensus taking a new approach and having the weight of Secretary Janet Napolitano's leadership behind it.

Congress also has prescribed a third-party arbitration panel to help settle disputes, if needed.

It wasn't immediately clear what role, if any, the federal Gulf Coast rebuilding office would play in the process. © Copyright 2012, wrkf