Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Announces $22 Million for Voluntary Home Buyouts in Communities Impacted by Hurricane Sally

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced that $22 million is now available to communities impacted by Hurricane Sally through the Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally Voluntary Home Buyout Program (VHB). The program reduces the risk of future property loss and recurrent flooding by funding the purchase and re-purposing of residential properties in high flood-risk areas.  Applications will be accepted through Friday, April 14, 2023, and additional information is available on the Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally VHB webpage. State agencies and local governments within the federal and state Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas are eligible for funding to acquire secured contiguous lots or single properties. Funding can also be used as leverage to match funding for projects that are also eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency the Hazard Mitigation Grant Match Program.Eligible counties include: •    Bay County •    Escambia County •    Okaloosa County •    Santa Rosa County  •    Walton County  To provide potential applicants with more information about Rebuild Florida programs for Hurricane Sally, the Department is hosting a webinar on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To register to attend the webinar, visit the Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally VHB webpage.  The deadline to complete an application is Friday, April 14, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. For more information about the program, including how to complete an application, visit the Rebuild Florida Voluntary Home Buyout Program webpage . For additional questions and assistance with the application process, please contact HousingSubrecipient@deo.myflorida.com.  The Rebuild Florida Hurricane Sally VHB program is funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. DEO is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all HUD long-term recovery funds awarded to the state. Rebuild Florida uses federal funding for Florida’s long-term recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of natural disasters. For more information, visit RebuildFlorida.gov. #     #     # Email editor@ alachuatoday.com