Pinellas seeks input on $813 million storm recovery fund
Following an announcement that Pinellas County will receive the largest allocation of federal storm recovery funds of any local government in Florida, the County is seeking public input on how to help people in greatest need rebuild their lives.
Pinellas County has been awarded $813,783,000 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support long-term recovery from Hurricane Idalia in 2023, and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. These funds from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program can help rebuild homes and businesses, provide rental assistance, restore damaged infrastructure and address other critical community needs.
The County has launched an online survey and will host a series of public meetings in April and May to help inform and finalize an Action Plan required by HUD. HUD requires that the money be spent on unmet needs caused by the hurricanes, with a majority of funds directed to help low-to-moderate income households.
A new website, recover.pinellas.gov, will be the hub for information about storm recovery programs funded through HUD and the public input process, as well as resources currently available to help people recover.
Pinellas County’s storm recovery funds will serve residents in all cities countywide except for the City of St. Petersburg, which received its own HUD CDBG-DR allocation.
The County plans to prioritize people first by making sure initial programs help local residents, businesses and workers rebuild their lives before focusing on public facilities and infrastructure.
Public Meeting Schedule
Monday, April 7, 6-8 p.m. (South County)
Lealman Exchange
Ray Neri Room
5175 45th Street North, St. Petersburg
Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. (Mid County)
City of Dunedin – City Hall
Commission Chambers
737 Louden Ave, Dunedin
Thursday, April 24, 6-8 p.m. (North County)
Harbor Hall/White Chapel
1190 Georgia Avenue, Palm Harbor
Tuesday, May 6, 9:30 a.m. (Board of County Commission Meeting)
333 Chestnut Street, Palm Room
Clearwater, FL 33756
Zoom Meetings
Links at recover.pinellas.gov/meetings
- Tuesday, May 13, 11 a.m.
- Thursday, May 15, 6 p.m.
The public meetings are part of an unmet needs assessment underway by the County which includes reviewing local, state and federal data and consulting with cities, community partners and residents.
By the end of April, the County will publish a draft Action Plan on the website recover.pinellas.gov for a 30-day comment period, which will be submitted to HUD for final approval this summer. Once the plan is approved, the County will begin rolling out programs and projects by fall 2025 at earliest.
HUD is distributing a total of $12 billion through the CDBG-DR program among 47 states, counties, cities and territories across the United States to help communities recover from federally declared disasters last year.
Examples of how the funds can be used include:
- Repairing damaged owner- and renter-occupied single-family and manufactured homes.
- Reconstructing or replacing damaged owner- and renter-occupied single-family and manufactured homes, building back more resilient.
- Supporting economic revitalization, including help for small businesses, creation of jobs and assistance for workers.
- Strengthening infrastructure through repairs, upgrades, and activities to increase the resilience of public facilities and infrastructure, including roadways, water systems and utilities.
- Implementing disaster mitigation measures to reduce risk of damage from future extreme weather and disaster events.
For text updates on all storm recovery programs in Pinellas County, text the word “RECOVER” to 888777, or visit recover.pinellas.gov.