On Monday, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced $75 million is now available to local governments through the Rebuild Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program. The Rebuild Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program allows local governments and state agencies to increase the resilience of critical facilities that serve a public safety purpose for local communities.
The funds are allocated through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) newly created Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program formed in response to the 2016 to 2017 presidentially declared disasters.
Local governments and state agencies may apply individually or partner with non-profits and non-governmental agencies for funding to propose projects that meet program requirements, including benefiting low-to-moderate income (LMI) populations.
The application window will be open for 75 days and DEO staff will be available to provide technical assistance to communities during the application process. The deadline to complete an application is June 30, 2020.
To provide local governments and state agencies with more information about the Rebuild Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program, DEO will host a webinar at 2:00 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.
According to the guidelines set by the Federal Register, at least 50 percent of CDBG-MIT funds must be spent in HUD-designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas, with the remaining funds spent in state-designated MID areas. The CDBG-MIT funding is available for use in 51 Florida counties.
DEO is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) long-term recovery funds awarded to the state. Launched in September 2018, Rebuild Florida uses federal funding for Florida’s long-term recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of natural disasters.
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