July 17, 2024, WKMG-TV, News 6, Orlando – “That doesn’t mean the legislature won’t come back and fund the program again, as long as we have the money to do it,” said Lisa Miller, an insurance advisor and disaster recovery expert. “I know the legislature can only do so much. We have other needs in this state for that kind of cash. So let’s just keep encouraging the legislature to keep funding the program.” (Original story location, including video version: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/florida/2024/07/17/my-safe-florida-home-exhausts-new-funding-pauses-initial-applications/ )
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – My Safe Florida Home, a popular state-run program meant to help approved homeowners pay for hurricane-related home improvements, has paused initial applications as it says it’s run out of new funding.
Applications opened July 1, on the same day that $200 million from the state’s General Revenue Fund was made available for the program per a bill signed in April by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The cash infusion was the bill’s primary purpose; at the time, My Safe Florida Home did not have enough money to take on new applicants.
Now, though, only about two weeks later, it appears My Safe Florida Home has already spent the $200 million. An update to the program’s website states the new funding has run dry and the initial inspection application process has been paused while remaining funds are to be used for home-hardening grants and final inspections.
If your home has already been inspected, you may apply for a grant based on the timeline outlined by the Legislature. The My Safe Florida Home program remains fully operational for grant applicants who have completed their initial inspection. My Safe Florida Home Program Update (excerpt)
News 6 reached out with questions to the office of Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Aside from a copy of the same update currently visible on the My Safe Florida Home website, we were provided with an answer to just one of our inquiries: “What is it that you most want applicants (or potential applicants) to know?”
“The most important thing for applicants to know is that the MSFH program is still up and running and grant funding is still available‚” the CFO’s communications director said in a statement. “If they have already completed or been approved for an initial inspection, they can still apply for the grant and final inspection. The only pause is for new initial inspections.“
As far as a reasoning for it, My Safe Florida Home’s website states the funding for initial inspections was exhausted because the program has been “an amazing success.”
Applications for wind mitigation inspections were to be accepted and prioritized in the following order:
- Low-income homeowners ages 60-plus: July 1 to 15
- Low-income homeowners of any age: July 16 to 30
- Moderate-income homeowners ages 60-plus: July 31 to Aug. 14
- Moderate-income homeowners of any age: Aug. 15 to 30
- All other eligible Florida homeowners: Aug. 31
“Low income” is defined as 80% or less of the median household income of your county, while “moderate income” is defined as 120% or less of the median household income of your county, according to the program.
Two dollars from the state for every $1 spent by a homeowner toward the actual cost of an authorized mitigation project — or two thirds of the project cost up to $10,000 — will be issued via grants to help approved applicants pay for such things as upgraded roof coverings, upgrades to windows, exterior doors and garage doors, reinforced wall-to-roof connections, strength improvements to roof deck attachments and secondary water resistance for a roof.
The program as of Thursday said it was “winding down the initial inspection application process as all slots (were) being filled with existing homeowners,” noting that grant funding still remained available and inviting homeowners who have completed their initial home inspections to apply for a grant when their group window opens.
We asked the CFO’s office which groups had not yet been attended to — as well as if more money was on the horizon, as opposed to be an entirely new bill away — but the question was not immediately acknowledged.
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