Frequently Asked Questions 

CDBG-DR dollars are flexible funds to carry out a wide range of recovery projects and programs related to Hurricanes Idalia, Helene, and Milton, including individual disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation of future storm risk. They are intended to primarily benefit residents of Pinellas County with low to moderate incomes.

The funds can be used for activities approved by HUD via the County’s Action Plan, but 70% must go toward helping low- and moderate-income individuals and households. Examples include:

• Housing: new construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of single-family or multi-family housing, homeownership assistance, buyouts, rental assistance, etc. 

• Economic revitalization: attraction, retention, and return of businesses and jobs to a disaster-impacted area, including helping local businesses rebuild.  

• Infrastructure: repairing damaged public facilities and structures, such as stormwater systems, community centers and more as well as elevation of non-residential structures to protect them from future storms. These funds can be used to match or meet a shared contribution for any other federal program.  

• Public services: (limited to 15%) housing counseling, legal advice, and representation, job training, disaster relief payments, etc. 

The amount of funding is based on damage estimates and unmet disaster recovery needs. While CDBG-DR funding is flexible, each funded activity must:  

• Address a direct or indirect impact from the disaster in a most impacted and distressed area; 

• Be a CDBG-eligible activity (primarily serve low- moderate-income persons or geographies – please refer to the CDBG income chart); 

• Meet a national objective of the CDBG program (benefit low- to moderate-income persons, aid in the prevention/elimination of slums and blight, or meet an urgent need). 

Additionally, all CDBG-DR activities (unless funded with the mitigation set aside) must be tied to the disaster covered by the allocation (Hurricanes Idalia, Helene, and Milton). 

Programs will be developed based on our HUD-approved Action Plan with a focus toward helping low-to moderate-income individuals and families and their communities. See chart for low-to moderate-income: 

Most programs that directly assist homeowners and renters will have income requirements, but some of the funds can go toward restoring businesses and infrastructure in storm-damaged communities.  

To obtain the funds, Pinellas County is required to develop an Action Plan based on an unmet and mitigation needs assessment. The County will conduct an unmet and mitigation needs assessment through data analysis and community engagement. Based on the results of the assessment, an Action Plan will be developed detailing the proposed use of funds, criteria for eligibility and how the use of these funds will address disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure, housing, and economic revitalization within Pinellas County. Once developed, the draft Action Plan will be available for review and comments, and it will later be submitted to HUD for approval. 

Funds will be available for unincorporated Pinellas County and all municipalities except for the City of St. Petersburg, which has received its own CDBG-DR allocation.

Overall, the planning process for CDBG-DR funds is expected to take approximately 4-6 months to complete. Once HUD approves the Action Plan, Pinellas County will begin funding agreements with HUD to start launching recovery programs. Pinellas County will have six years from the agreement execution date to spend the funds (administer our own programs and/or work with other entities to distribute dollars).  

Pinellas County is working fast to make these funds available in record time, but we must follow a specific process outlined by HUD to assess unmet needs and develop an Action Plan supported by public input. We are aiming to submit a final Action Plan for review by early summer with estimated HUD approval by August. After that, we aim to start launching programs in fall 2025. Here’s the full timeline:  

In developing its CDBG-DR Action Plan, Pinellas County will hold several public meetings (see table above) as well as solicit input from local municipalities, public housing authorities, advocacy groups, and community partners, and residents, to determine the remaining unmet recovery needs and the most critical disaster mitigation needs associated with Hurricanes Idalia, Helene, and Milton. 

Pinellas County cannot launch programs or accept funding applications until our Action Plan is approved by HUD (see anticipated timeline above). We anticipate developing and launching assistance programs by fall 2025, at the earliest, based on requirements from HUD. The public will be notified when applications are accepted, and information will be posted on our website. In the meantime, you can find information about other assistance and resources available for homeowners, renters and local business owners on our website.