Sarasota County expects to receive $210,094,000 in additional hurricane recovery funding for communities impacted from 2023-2024 disasters
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
SARASOTA COUNTY – Sarasota County expects to receive a new $210,094,000 allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to assist with recovery and mitigation efforts from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton and Tropical Storm Debby.
The county created the Resilient SRQ program in 2023 to support Hurricane Ian recovery from the prior allocation of $201,535,000 in CDBG-DR funding. It assists the community in rebuilding homes, repairing infrastructure and addressing unmet needs from Hurricane Ian. This new funding will be under the same program and will leverage and expand the program’s existing capacity to support long-term recovery and resilience efforts for residents and businesses impacted by these 2023 and 2024 disasters.
In total, between the prior allocation for Hurricane Ian and this new allocation, the county will administer a total of $411,629,000 in funding for recovery and mitigation efforts from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 disasters.
“Last year tested our community like never before, but it’s also shown our incredible resilience and determination to rebuild. With this funding, we’re not just repairing homes and infrastructure — we’re building back stronger and preparing for the future,” said Sarasota County Commission Chair Dr. Joe Neunder. “We appreciate the collaboration across all levels of government in securing this funding for our community. It will truly help the citizens of Sarasota County.”
The county anticipates a similar process to the last round of funding with the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners providing direction to staff after factoring in community input.
The plan will detail projects and programs to best meet the unmet needs in Sarasota County identified in the assessment. The projects will be designed to primarily assist low to moderate-income households and fall into the categories of housing, restoration of infrastructure, economic revitalization and mitigation.
The community will be invited to participate in the development of this next county program action plan, and more information will be released as it becomes available.
Sarasota County successfully disbursed recovery funds into the community in previous and ongoing federal programs such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Program, and the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program.
More information on Sarasota County’s Resilient SRQ and the CDBG-DR funds can be found in the HUD media release and on HUD’s website. As Sarasota County’s plans are finalized, more information will be provided.