Title:
title
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Resolution implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #25-055 in the General Fund to transfer $1,389,520 from reserves for budgetary cleanup of Hurricane Milton expenses. Countywide (Timothy Jecks, Management & Budget Director) Requesting Department - Management & Budget
end
Division:
division
Management and Budget
body
Authorized By:
Timothy Jecks, Management & Budget Director
Contact/Phone Number:
Davison Heriot/407-665-7177
Background:
On October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key as a Category 3 Hurricane, bringing strong winds, torrential rainfall, flooding, and power outages across Seminole County. Initial tracks indicated a path mirroring the I-4 corridor; however, Hurricane Milton tracked further south towards Polk, Osceola, and southern Orange counties. This southern shift after landfall and considerable weakening lessened the direct impacts of Hurricane Milton on Seminole County.
In preparation for the forecasted track, Seminole County began one of the largest sandbag operations to date. Over 280,000 sandbags were provided to the community in preparation for historic flooding. On Sunday, October 6th, a Local State of Emergency was signed – simultaneously, the Emergency Operations Center was activated.
In addition to the sandbag operation, ten shelters were opened in coordination with many partner agencies. In anticipation, the EOC activated many of its pre-disaster contracts for pumps, generators, surge staffing, food services, and debris, among others. Every County department had a role, from sandbag operations and shelter management to the citizen information line, damage assessment, preparing to open points of distribution, comfort stations, debris collection, and alternative garbage collection for residents in the flooded areas. In total, the cost of Hurricane Milton reached $7.9 million.
In the months since Hurricane Milton, Emergency Management and the Office of Management and Budget continue to work with the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recoup the financial impact. FEMA’s Public Assistance program reimburses local governments for the eligible unbudgeted costs of Presidentially Declared events. Eligible costs are estimated to be $6.7 million, with just less than that anticipated to be reimbursed by FEMA.
BAR 25-055 allocates budget to the business units that couldn’t absorb Hurricane Milton expenses in existing budgets. These expenses were primarily charged to the Emergency Management business unit 055600 to facilitate easier tracking and reimbursement, accounting for $607,328 of this BAR.
Contracted Debris operations alone totaled over $4.1 million, creating a budget shortfall of $473,937 included in BAR 25-055. The remaining amount consisted of $75,000 for disaster recovery services to assist with FEMA project development, $166,795 for assessments and repairs to the County’s radio towers, and $66,460 for emergency access to Bluefish Pl when flooding off Mullet Lake Park Rd washed the culverts away, preventing emergency vehicles from reaching residents.
BAR 25-055 transfers $1,389,520 from General Fund Reserves to allocate budget for Hurricane Milton expenses. General Fund Reserves are currently budgeted at $55.4 million.
Requested Action:
Staff requests the Board approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Resolution implementing Budget Amendment Request (BAR) #25-055 in the General Fund to transfer $1,389,520 from reserves for budgetary cleanup of Hurricane Milton expenses.