FORT WORTH - North Texas cities are opening their doors and checkbooks for Hurricane Ike evacuees.

But at least one city says FEMA still hasn't paid all it should for relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Three years ago, the city of Fort Worth took one look at the pictures of human misery after Hurricane Katrina and starting rolling up its collective sleeves, opening its homes, its shelters and its coffers.

When it was all over, the city had a $12 million bill for FEMA.

The agency paid most of it but not all.

"I'm disappointed," said Reid Rector of the City of Fort Worth.

FEMA is refusing to pay for the work done by city employees who were essentially on loan to the relief effort, saying the agency should only pay for overtime.

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Fort Worth is still owed money from the Katrina relief effort.

"Some of these folks were essentially working full time in a shelter or full time in an apartment complex working the evacuees," said Joe Komisarz of the City of Fort Worth.

Those paychecks add up to more than $2 million. That, along with another $200,000 in business lost when Will Rogers Coliseum was converted to a shelter, and about $9,000 in other services - a still-disputed bill of more than $2.2 million.

Faced with FEMA's refusal to pay, the city's now working with the area's congressional delegation.

The reimbursement could become part of a larger piece of legislation.

"I think we did a good job taking care of our guests, as the mayor prefers to call them, and now to be stonewalled and told 'no you're not going to get that money back or be reimbursed for those funds' is disappointing," said Rector.

City staffers say FEMA's refusal to reimburse the disputed amount will not affect Fort Worth's willingness to help in this or other disaster efforts.

But the reimbursement problem is affecting at least one other North Texas city.

Plano has declined to open shelters, citing more than $90,000 FEMA still owes that city.

E-mail chawes@wfaa.com.