MONROE COUNTY RECEIVES FIRST FEMA REIMBURSEMENT PAYMENT FOR HURRICANE IRMA EXPENSES

MONROE COUNTY RECEIVES FIRST FEMA REIMBURSEMENT PAYMENT FOR HURRICANE IRMA EXPENSES

MONROE COUNTY, FL – Monroe County received the first reimbursement today from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) for money spent while responding to Hurricane Irma.  The $603,988 was a partial reimbursement for funds expended on emergency protective measures after Irma’s landfall.

County Officials are working closely with DEM to secure additional reimbursements and are expecting to soon receive an additional $2.2 million dollars.

“Our staff is committed to working closely with our State partners during this recovery to ensure that all eligible expenses incurred by the County are recovered,” Monroe County Office of Management and Budget Director Tina Boan said.

In addition to the funds received to date, Monroe County currently has more than $31 million in grant (reimbursement) requests being reviewed by FEMA.  So far, FEMA has approved $3.3 million of this submitted amount and has sent this funding to DEM.

DEM has to go through its own approval process before sending the FEMA funds to the County.

County officials and staff, as well as leaders from the municipalities, met recently with FEMA and DEM representatives, as well as U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, to reiterate the need for FEMA reimbursement as quickly as possible to replenish emergency reserve accounts that were exhausted responding to Hurricane Irma.

The County also has begun working on the 2019 Fiscal Year Budget, with the first draft to be presented at a public budget meeting in May. Receiving the FEMA reimbursements in a timely manner will help to rebuild the emergency reserves and prevent having to rebuild those reserves from other funding sources in the budget.

The County has estimated a preliminary cost of $103.7 million for Hurricane Irma-related expenses. This figure does not include the airports or mitigation.

The County has taken out a $40 million line of credit to ensure being able to cover Hurricane Irma expenses.

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