Politics

State finds few takers for $20M in storm grants

Just eight governments put dibs on $6.5-million.

By IVAN PENN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 8, 2007

While local governments throughout Florida scramble for funds to meet taxpayer needs, there is $13.5-million in state money that nobody seems to want.

Under the My Safe Florida Home program, the state offered $20-million in grant money to local governments to help strengthen homes in their communities against hurricanes.

But of the roughly 500 incorporated municipalities and county governments eligible,only eight asked for the money by the Oct. 26 deadline. Each local government was allowed to apply for up to $1-million.

Of the $20-million grant money available, only $6.5-million was requested.

The Department of Financial Services, which runs the My Safe Florida Home program, would not comment about the low participation by local governments, other than to issue this written statement: "The MSFH program is pleased with the interest of local governments, as we have received applications from governments as large as the city of St. Petersburg to as small as the city of Jupiter."

The department plans to issue another request for grant proposals early next year for the remaining $13.5-million. That money could help more than 2,600 homeowners strengthen their homes against storms.

Some local governments said they did not ask for the grants because they question whether they can take on a new program at a time of budget cuts that are resulting in layoffs and other shrinking resources.

"Even if I could make a good argument for this, the timing was off," said Anthony Jones, director of community development for Pinellas County, which did not apply. "We know in general these kinds of rehab programs are kind of pricey to run," even with the grant money.

To some, the lackluster participation by the local governments highlights concerns about the $250-million program, which the Legislature created in 2006.

It had a bumpy start, with an illegal contract that escalated from $457,000 to almost $3-million anda pilot phase that had tens of thousands of homeowners on a waiting list. Last month the state fired one of the home inspection firms for violating its state contract.

In the Tampa Bay area, St. Petersburg and Port Richey are each expected to receive grants of $500,000.

Joshua Johnson, St. Petersburg's director of housing and community development, said the city has been working on hurricane protection and is familiar with the requirements of the My Safe Florida Home program, unlike some other local governments.

"We felt that we had the working experience," Johnson said. "We thought that we should apply for it to bring additional resources to the city."

The program is supposed to help tens of thousands of homeowners fortify their dwellings. By strengthening roofs and adding opening protections such as shutters to homes, the hope is that homeowners will minimize damage during hurricanes and see their insurance rates drop.

The state offers free home inspections and grants to eligible homeowners, whether directly through the Department of Financial Services, or through nonprofit organizations and local governments. The grants include matching money for up to $5,000 for moderate and middle-income families and entirely free services for low-income homeowners.

Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, was out Monday touting the benefits of the program, delivering a $5,000 grant check to a Sarasota homeowner for making improvements to fortify his home.

When Fitzgerald took office earlier this year, he found a stack of complaints about the My Safe Florida Home program. "They just ran into a lot of bureaucratic problems," he said of the homeowners that contacted him.

He believes the program is running well now, but given that just eight local governments applied for grants, he questioned what those running the program are doing to advertise the benefits.

This was the second round of local government grants from the state through the program. During the first round about four months ago, 10 local governments received grants, including the city of Sarasota and a highly touted effort in Palm Bay.

Bob Williams, a housing rehabilitation specialist there, said that after the October deadline to apply for this round of grants passed, several other cities asked him how the program is working.

"I received calls from other people who work for city managers," he said. "They're getting questions like, 'Why didn't we apply for this?'"

Williams said Palm Bay's $1-million grant will help the city strengthen more than 200 homes. He said he has requests from more than 2,000 others.

He wants Palm Bay to apply for a piece of the unclaimed $13.5-million next year. "I'm hoping nobody else applies so I can go back and do it again," he said. "The money's there."

Applicants

Here are the governments that applied for the $20-million offered by the state to fortify homes in their communities:

St. Petersburg: $500,000

Port Richey: $500,000

Melbourne: $500,000

Jupiter: $945,471

Miramar: $750,000

Pembroke Pines: $250,000

West Palm Beach: $1,000,000

St. Lucie County: $1,000,000

[Last modified November 7, 2007, 23:39:29]