Manatee County has $252 million in federal disaster recovery money on the table for homeowners still repairing damage from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton — and when the county held a public hearing this week on how to spend it, exactly one resident showed up.

The hearing, held Wednesday, was meant to gather feedback on proposed changes to the county’s HUD-funded recovery plan before it’s finalized. Julie Madison was the only person in the room. She said she wasn’t there to apply for aid herself but came on behalf of neighbors affected by the storms.

“I’ve got friends and neighbors that were impacted by the hurricane. So I just wanted to figure out what that program would look like,” Madison said.

The public comment period and the deadline for homeowners to submit a pre-application close Monday, Aug. 30 — leaving a narrow window for residents to weigh in on how a quarter-billion dollars in federal funds gets allocated in their county.

Where the money is going

Of the $252 million total, $75 million is earmarked for the Home Recovery Program, which is aimed directly at homeowners. The rest is set aside for infrastructure repair, rental property recovery and public works. Eligible homeowners — those whose primary residence was damaged by one of the three storms and remains unrepaired, and who meet income requirements — can receive up to $450,000 toward repairing, replacing or elevating their property.

Notably, the money does not go directly to homeowners as a check. Manatee County itself manages the construction process from start to finish, according to Odugo Ohizu, communications coordinator for Lasting Manatee, the county’s recovery initiative.

“It’s not a direct check to the resident, it’s the county taking care of the permits, contracting them, making sure the work is done to code and with compliance,” Ohizu said.

Homeowners select a contractor from a county-vetted list rather than hiring their own, though officials say the county can reassign a backlogged contractor to keep projects moving. One proposed change under public review would let homeowners who already paid out of pocket for repairs seek reimbursement of up to $75,000, provided they kept receipts and permits — a fix aimed at residents who couldn’t wait on the government timeline and moved ahead on their own.

A two-year wait, and counting

The funding is what HUD classifies as “assistance of last resort” — money intended for homeowners who’ve already gone through FEMA and other programs and still haven’t been made whole, more than two years after the storms hit. County data shows the heaviest concentration of applications coming from the areas hit hardest by storm surge: Palmetto, Bradenton, West Bradenton and Cortez.

Officials are touting a streamlined pre-application meant to lower the barrier to entry — they say it takes under 15 minutes and requires no supporting documents up front.

“That’s been a big barrier where people are worried about what’s needed to get started,” Ohizu said. “It’s a very quick barrier to entry.”

The bigger question

Whatever the merits of the program’s design, the sparse turnout at a hearing over $252 million in taxpayer-funded federal aid raises questions about how closely local government spending is scrutinized before it’s locked in. Madison, for her part, said that’s exactly the problem.

“If you’re not speaking up and if you’re not paying attention, then your needs are absolutely not going to get met,” she said.

Residents have until Monday to submit public comment at LastingManatee.org. After that, the county will review feedback, adjust the plan as needed, and submit it to HUD for final approval. Construction funding awards are expected to begin sometime this fall or winter.

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