President raises federal share of Irma cleanup

Central Florida communities concerned about the rising cost of removing Hurricane Irma storm debris will get more help than expected in paying the bills.

President Donald Trump signed an order this week increasing the federal share for debris-removal costs in Florida from 75 percent to 90 percent. The potential savings could run into the tens of millions across Central Florida, where fallen tree limbs litter roadsides and sidewalks.

“That’s good news obviously,” said Orange County Commissioner Bryan Nelson, who was concerned about the bill for removing an estimated 1.3 million cubic yards of tree limbs, leaves and other vegetation

piled along the curbs of county roads.

Nelson said the county keeps adequate funds in reserve for weather disasters, but paying the tab is “a lot easier with help from the federal government.”

Under a disaster declaration issued for Florida on Sept. 10, the day before Irma ripped through Central Florida, federal funding for emergency debris removal and other hurricane expenses was set at 75 percent of eligible costs. The state and local governments were expected to split the rest.

The same split remains in effect under the president’s latest order, said Alberto Moscoso, spokesman for the Division of Emergency Management.

Moscoso and FEMA spokesman David Burns said it is still too early to accurately determine Hurricane Irma’s total damage or recovery costs.

Winter Garden City Manager Mike Bollhoefer welcomed the announcement, though the city’s reserve fund had adequate cash available to pay the bill to clean up debris shaken from its lush oak canopies.

“We had one goal: to pick it up,” he said.

Bollhoefer said the savings likely will be plowed back into Winter Garden’s solid waste fund for new trucks and to maintain its refuse-collection operations.

The higher FEMA reimbursement rate figures to help state and local governments save millions.

Ocoee, for instance, would have been on the hook for an estimated $341,250 for its share of debris-removal costs under the previous pay-back rate.The city’s estimated bill would be cut to $136,500, a savings of about $205,000.

Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione called the higher reimbursement “incredibly good news.”

“It takes a lot more time to collect debris when you’re trying to meet all of the [FEMA] eligibility requirements, such as hiring a monitor for each crew and truck,” Campione said. “Considering we must upfront the cost of collection, this gives us hope our local budget will bounce back once the reimbursements start to flow in.”

Local governments, however, often must wait years for FEMA payments, which generally don’t allow the agency to cover the cost of services spent to clean up private property, such as gated communities.

However, because of the spate of recent damaging hurricanes, the agency said it may authorize reimbursement on private property if debris “is so widespread that it threatens public health and safety or economic recovery of a community.”

Trump’s decision to boost the FEMA reimbursement rate comes as many governments are facing higherthan-expected debris-removal costs.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued investigative subpoenas this week to debris haulers, including at least two holding contracts and serving communities in Central Florida, AshBritt Inc. and Ceres Environmental Services.

Bondi plans to look into complaints some companies and subcontractors skipped out on pre-storm contracts with Florida cities and counties because they could earn more working in Texas or elsewhere.

Seminole County, which had a pre-storm contract to pay $7.49 per cubic yard to hauler Ceres Environmental, reworked the pact to pay the company 11 percent more — a raise of about 82 cents per cubic yard to $8.31, County Manager Nicole Guillet said.

Seminole commissioners were prepared to pay more than $15 per cubic yard to clean up the debris, though they risked rejection by FEMA. The agency’s rules