ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Ken Feinberg had a lot to think about Wednesday night. After receiving a call from Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon telling the man who was appointed by President Barak Obama to administer the $20 billion claims fund set up by BP that he “better get down here,” he did what he was told.

Up to this point, however, he hadn’t done what he told those affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill he would do, which is expedite the claims process. For many, their ordeal has been worse since Aug. 23 when Feinberg took over.

Feinberg told Kennon he wanted to come down and meet people face to face and discuss the issues, and that is what he did on Wednesday at 12:15 to a standing room only crowd at the Orange Beach Community Center.

Before taking the stage, Kennon advised those in attendance that the meeting was “a business meeting,” and that if anyone’s conduct was disrespectful, they would be removed from the building.

“The reason I asked you all here early was to lay down some ground rules before Mr. Feinberg gets here,” Kennon told the citizens. “No one is more frustrated than me, but I am not losing everything so it is hard for me to put myself in your shoes when you can’t pay the bills. I know the emotions are running high, and I know you are angry and I understand. But we are going to be nice and we are going to be civil.

“This is a business meeting and that is how we are going to treat it. We are going to come out of here with some answers and some optimism. If we don’t, then we might have to get ugly. But that is for another day.”

When Feinberg showed up, he was armed with 20 of his claims adjusters who set up in an adjacent building to meet with business owners. As he stepped to the microphone, he offered no excuses, but recognized that there were indeed areas where the process needed to be improved and he vowed to make things better.

“I love this community, I appreciate the community, I am your advocate, and I decided that the only way to improve this program was to hear directly from the Mayor, your elected officials, and the people themselves,” Feinberg said. “I am determined to make the program work for the benefit of the people in this room.”

What is working

At first Feinberg addressed things that were working related to the process.

According to Feinberg, during the first three weeks of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, he approved 16,000 claims and authorized payments of $185 million.

“Somebody in the Gulf is receiving the benefits of this program, but not enough, are getting immediate relief. I have distributed more money in three weeks than BP distributed in three months.”

Feinberg admitted however, that he had to get better, and wanted to assure those in attendance that he was not an agent of BP or working for BP.

“Whatever flaws there are in this program today are my fault, not BP’s, and I’ve got to correct them.”

What isn’t working

Feinberg admitted there were three main problems with the program and was quick to take the blame, saying that the issues were his fault and nobody else’s.

The three main issues that Feinberg recognized as areas that need improvement are the amount of time it is taking to process the claims, the generosity of the program is failing with claimants receiving less than what they need, and the absence of transparency.

“I told you to your face the within 48 hours if documented as an individual, and within seven days if documented as a business, you would be paid. I have not lived up to that schedule.”

Feinberg said while some had been paid in a timely fashion, most had not.

“It is very clear to me that I overpromised and under delivered on timing.”

Presently, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility is processing 1,000 claims per day, but Feinberg said they have to find a way to do more.

Feinberg also said he had loosened the criteria and the rules in order for those filing claims to receive more money in a more timely fashion.

As for transparency, Feinberg promised to appoint someone specifically to the area who would be on hand at all times to answer questions regarding claims.

Throughout the question and answer period when citizens were allowed to voice issues related to their claims, Feinberg insisted that each person not leave until they had met with one of the adjusters to expedite their claim.

“I’ve always said that the only thing that matters in this business of mine is that you deliver the goods.  I learned this from 9/11, I learned it from Virginia Tech, I learned this from Agent Orange, at the end of the day my credibility rises or falls on my ability to deliver the compensation.”

Although Feinberg recognized areas that needed improvement, he gave no specifics as to how he was going to do it, but promised that he would go back home, consider the suggestions offered by Mayor Kennon and others, and would come up institute the changes “in a few days.”