HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla (WFLA) — Hillsborough County is asking residents to give input on potential spending for storm recovery funds.
The county initiated the first of nine public meetings on Wednesday night. There is $709 million in federal funding accessible to support recovery and mitigation efforts pertaining to Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene, and Milton.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery.
A number of hurricane victims are experiencing varied stages of recovery. Barbara Yarborough has returned to her West Park residence after experiencing four feet of water inside her home.
“I walked in the front door and nothing was in the same place,” said Yarborough. “It was dirty sewer water, that’s what bothered me.”
Yarborough was unable to attend the meeting on Wednesday, but mentioned she had been urging her neighbors to participate, noting that they’ve never encountered flooding as severe as what they experienced last fall.
Evelyn Igbinosun lives in Lake Magdalene and said three feet of water rushed into her house.
“I’m still not in my house,” said Igbinosun. “If I didn’t have a relative, I would be out on the street.”
These women, and other residents, called on Hillsborough County to make some changes.
The county proposes putting $35 million toward administration, $5 million for planning, $360 million for housing, $107 million for infrastructure, $180 million toward the economy, and $12 million for public services.
“We want this to be fair and accessible to all who qualify,” said the moderator of the public hearing.
Residents said they felt $709 million isn’t enough money to help.
“$10 million for flood mitigation wouldn’t even cover this area,” said one resident.
“These public dollars should prioritize long-term community resilience, not corporate profit,” said another resident.
They also mentioned the backed-up canals and drainage systems they feel make storms even worse.
“Our ditches in the Town and Country area are horrible,” said one woman.
“It rained the other day and I went into a panic. I said ‘Oh my gosh, I hope it’s not going to rain too much,'” said Yarborough. “I want them to redo the gutters and that canal there. Stormwater and drainage, after all, that’s why we’re here. Florida, we’re known for that, so we need to take care of it. And I thought our taxes went to take care of things.”
Igbinosun said she doesn’t think the county was prepared for these storms and wants them to act now.
“Help me get back into my home. I would love that because my husband is in a nursing home. We use to go and get him and bring him home for the day. We can’t even do that anymore,” said Igbinosun. “Drainage would be the most important thing to me and then helping people like me get back into their homes and function day to day in their own surroundings.”
The county has six years to use these funds. If the plan is approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the county can implement the program later this fall.
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