Sarasota County expects $210M in federal storm recovery funding

Sarasota County officials expect to receive an additional $210 million in federal hurricane relief from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to assist with recovery and mitigation efforts from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton, and Tropical Storm Debby.

In 2023, the county created the Resilient SRQ program for Hurricane Ian recovery to allocate $201.5 million in CDBG-DR funding. The program assists in rebuilding homes, repairing infrastructure and addressing other unmet needs. Under the same program, the new round of funding will go toward leveraging and expanding existing capacity to support long-term recovery and resilience efforts.

"Last year tested our community like never before, but it’s also shown our incredible resilience and determination to rebuild,” said Sarasota County Commission Chairman Joe Neunder in a news release. “With this funding, we’re not just repairing homes and infrastructure, we’re building back stronger and preparing for the future.”

Similar to the 2023 grant, the county anticipates staff direction for distribution from the County Commission after receiving community input. The plan will detail projects and programs to best meet the identified needs in Sarasota County, primarily offering assistance to low- and moderate-income households in the categories of housing, restoration of infrastructure, economic revitalization and mitigation.

More information about how residents may participate in the development of the next Resilient SRQ action plan will be released as it becomes available.