Did You Have Recent Flood Damage? Homeowners & Renters Can Apply For Any Losses Due To The Storm

The program application period will be open only until August 30th. It is very important for individuals to apply as soon as possible. If you have insurance, you may apply. They are providing up to $500,000 to repair your home and up to $100,000 for contents. The Loan Rate will be 2.688 percent for Residential and 4 percent for Businesses.

They also have programs for Businesses. Businesses can apply for Property and Economic Losses from Business Interruption. The rate and terms for Businesses and NonProfits are a bit higher. There is a $2-Million-Dollar Cap and the Businesses pay 4 percent and Non-Profits pay 3.25 percent.

The program will cover uninsured and uncompensated disaster losses. Any insurance proceeds which are required to be applied against outstanding mortgages are not available to fund Disaster Repairs and do not reduce Loan Eligibility. However, any insurance proceeds voluntarily applied to any outstanding mortgages do reduce Loan Eligibility.

Secondary homes, personal pleasure boats, airplanes, recreational vehicles and similar property are not eligible, unless used for business purposes. Property such as antiques and collections are eligible only to the extent of their functional value. Amounts for landscaping, swimming pools, etc., are limited.
If you have received assistance before from the SBA and did not comply with their terms you can apply but may not be eligible, this includes borrowers who did not maintain Flood and/or Hazard Insurance on previous SBA Loans.

The law authorizes loan terms up to a maximum of 30 years. However, the law restricts businesses with credit available elsewhere to a maximum 7-year term. SBA sets the installment payment amount and corresponding maturity based upon each borrower’s ability to repay. Borrowers may be required to provide collateral.

The information on the program and application can be found online at: www.SBA.gov/disaster

Budget continued:
I have written about our current budget process Tax Rate a few articles back. I shared that we would be lowering our tax rate this year to 7.999 and there was a possibility it could be reduced further. There is good news that we will be able to reduce our rate to roll back to 7.729. The Rollback Rate I explained was the rate set to provide the same level revenue we collected in the previous year.

This means Homesteaded Properties will be seeing a reduction on their taxes. Non Homesteaded Properties depending on their Taxable Value may also be seeing a reduction.

Staff reviewed all the staffing levels in every department to see if positions that were not filled needed to remain in the Budget. It was found approximately $500,000 could be cut from salaried positions. At the writing of this article, I did not have the specific positions, but the cuts will not interfere with our level of services.

The Fire Fee that I reviewed in the same article will not be changed this Budget Year. We do need to address the rate moving forward. At our next meeting in August, we will be provided a report on our Fire Services. I have requested that an outside consultant evaluate the department and the level of services we provide.

Fire and Emergency Services have continued to evolve over the years. I have discussed our BSO Contract over the years since, it did not increase the staffing levels and cost approximately more than $1 Million Dollars in costs than having our own department. There was value added in the ability to retain positions, expand training hours and inspection services. The move to the Florida Retirement System did also reduce pension costs. The audit’s information will provide a better basis and understanding of the true needs within our City as we enter BSO Contract negotiations.

Our next meeting on the Budget will be at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday August 7th. Immediately following will be our regular Commission Meeting which starts at 5:30 p.m.

As always feel free to contact me anytime with your questions and concerns by email: jcooper@cohb.org. Or at: joycooper@aol.com. I always can be reached by phone or text at: (954) 632-5700. Working for you! Always Have! Always will!