$1 Billion In Public Assistance For Hurricane Wilma Recovery 

Rebuilding funds flowing at a steady and improved pace to Florida cities and counties

Release Date: July 21, 2006
Release Number: LTR-06-036

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- In less than one year since Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida, more than $1 billion in federal Public Assistance funds has been dispersed throughout communities affected by that storm, officials from the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Florida's State Emergency Response Team (SERT) announced today.

"The typical life-cycle of any disaster involves a rapid response to meet basic needs, followed by long-term, large-scale federal Public Assistance funding to help city and county governments get back on their feet," said Scott R. Morris, FEMA's Florida long-term recovery director. "We resolved to deliver these vital funds to Florida communities quicker and more efficiently than ever before - and we succeeded. We have made Wilma Public Assistance funds available three times faster than those from the 2004 hurricane season - and with half the staff carrying the workload."

Through the Public Assistance program, FEMA grants state and local governments and eligible private nonprofit agencies funds to repair or replace damaged roads and bridges, water-control facilities, public buildings and their contents, publicly owned utilities, and parks and recreation areas. It also includes funds for emergency services and eligible debris-removal costs related to the disaster. For the 2005 hurricane season, FEMA reimbursed these applicants 75 percent of the eligible cost. The state and the applicant covered the rest of the cost.

"Public Assistance endeavors are the kinds of projects that affect the day-to-day activities, services and resources provided to Floridians by local governments," said Craig Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "We applaud the ongoing commitment by the state team and our federal partners to help Florida communities recover."

All levels of government have a role in getting the Public Assistance grant money to applicants. For every applicant, a team with one FEMA member and one state member shepherds the applicant's project or projects through the process. The state is the grants manager, and local officials take an active role in the process by providing documentation and requesting approved grant money from the state. The state is responsible, along with the applicant, for monitoring the finalization of every large (more than $55,000) project; then, FEMA conducts an audit of the project's documentation.

Throughout the area affected by Wilma, more than 8,500 Public Assistance projects totaling $1.01 billion have been funded so far, representing more than 90 percent of the estimated federal share of the Wilma recovery effort. Among many other projects, federal Public Assistance funds made available for Wilma recovery helped to clear debris from public rights-of-way; repair thousands of damaged traffic signals; rebuild battered infrastructure such as bridges; replace public vehicles; and repair and replace damaged roofs, siding, light fixtures and other components of public buildings.

For recovery from all 2005 storms that impacted Florida - hurricanes Dennis, Wilma, Katrina and Rita - more than $1.3 billion in Public Assistance funds, covering more than 11,800 projects, has reached city, county and state applicants.

Innovations Speed Recovery Process

Recovery officials credited improvements made to the Florida Public Assistance process for the swift pace of recovery. In May 2005, FEMA opened a Long-Term Recovery Office (LTRO) in Orlando in response to Florida's historic 2004 hurricane season.  Its primary purpose was to take the lessons learned following the 2004 season - the greatest mobilization of response and recovery resources in FEMA's history before Hurricane Katrina - and drive change in hurricane-recovery efforts. It sought to streamline the massive push to meet the needs of Florida communities after the 2004 storms and to establish an effective blueprint for future hurricane recovery efforts.

Creation of the LTRO resulted in a shift toward using long-term personnel, rather than temporary employees.  This was particularly helpful in the area of Public Assistance, as it gave local and state officials permanent go-to contacts to help them through the process. And with billions of dollars in disaster assistance at stake, the SERT created, with FEMA's funding, an online solution - www.floridapa.org - that allows local, county and state officials to track their Public Assistance applications.

In 2005, FEMA returned to the practice of writing projects based on estimates to ensure that local governments have access to the federal resources they are eligible for as quickly as possible. This helps local governments meet their budget commitments.

Program managers from the LTRO, including Public Assistance employees, spent the spring crisscrossing Florida, meeting with officials from each of the state's 67 counties, answering questions about FEMA assistance and strengthening relationships that will facilitate a speedier recovery from future disasters. The workshops were well attended and local participants applauded the first-of-its-kind tour.

Besides providing a framework for the 2005 hurricane season and beyond, the opening of the LTRO greatly hastened the speed with which Public Assistance projects from the 2004 storms were approved, as well. Average dollars sent per day to state and local governments in Florida for Public Assistance in the wake of the 2004 hurricanes more than tripled after the LTRO opened in May 2005. To date, FEMA has sent nearly $2.3 billion to Florida for more than 28,900 public-assistance projects related to the rebuilding after the 2004 storms.

FEMA recovery officials stressed that they will be in Florida for as long as it takes to fund every eligible expense.

After Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida, 20 counties were designated to receive federal Public Assistance funds. The following table lists those counties, how many Wilma-related projects have been funded in each to date, and the total amount of federal Public Assistance funds made available for those projects.

County Projects obligated Total dollars obligated
 Statewide  1,123  $95,135,576
 Brevard  195  $8,321,752
 Broward  2,072  $322,179,438
 Charlotte  34  $1,950,068
 Collier  407  $57,115,140
 DeSoto  4  $59,443
 Glades  75  $1,223,791
 Hardee  19  $74,328
 Hendry  225  $5,513,772
 Highlands  37  $341,565
 Indian River  159  $3,113,042
 Lee  290  $21,121,040
 Martin  212  $16,862,189
 Miami-Dade  1,333  $237,484,049
 Monroe  399  $46,552,918
 Okeechobee  40  $500,203
 Osceola  7  $125,003
 Palm Beach  1,577  $179,345,105
 Polk  25  $555,803
 Sarasota  71  $1,326,950
 St. Lucie  294  $14,434,936
     
   8,598  $1.01 billion

FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. For more information visit www.fema.gov.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 25-Jul-2006 14:36:55