TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Email
Print
Free Inspections Coming To An End
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 3, 2008
Updated: 07/03/2008 06:56 am
Related Links
TAMPA - Nothing free lasts forever, even hurricane inspections.
My Safe Florida Home officials are urging residents who want a free inspection to act now, as the program is rapidly closing on its goal of 400,000 inspections statewide.
As of Wednesday, the program was about 17,000 inspections short of its goal, spokesman Kevin Cate said. Once those have been requested, Cate said, no more inspections will be scheduled.
My Safe Florida Home was created in 2006 by the state Legislature to provide free inspections to residents to help determine whether their houses could withstand a major storm. Lawmakers allocated $250 million to cover the cost of inspections and to offer grants of up to $5,000 apiece to eligible homeowners to make safety improvements.
As of May, the program exceeded its goal of 35,000 grants awarded, and stopped accepting applications for financial assistance, Cate said. To date, the program has spent nearly $64 million to reimburse about 18,700 residents for improvements made. About 39,000 total grants were awarded.
The program is administered by the state Department of Financial Services.
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and state Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, will meet today at a Pinellas Park house to remind homeowners that free inspections are ending soon.
Cate said the program "is transitioning into providing the services that have already been spoken for," namely completing the remaining inspections, once requested, and reimbursing the remaining grant applicants once improvements are made.
Justice's office on Wednesday sent out a news release that suggested My Safe Florida Home was closing its doors, effective immediately. Cate said the release should have said inspection sign-ups are coming to an end.
The Tampa Tribune for nearly a year has reported on issues with key portions of My Safe Florida Home, including discrepancies and errors in the inspection process, deficiencies with grant allocations, particularly for low-income residents, and complaints of professional misconduct by contractors hired to make safety improvements.
State lawmakers did not allocate additional money for the program during the 2008 legislative session, meaning no new inspections or grants will be offered. Cate said program officials think future funding should be considered.
"The funding and the goals come from the Legislature," he said. "The CFO has been pretty clear that the program is valuable."
To apply for one of the remaining free inspections, call My Safe Florida Home at 1-866-513-6734.
Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915 or jallman@tampatrib.com.
Email
Print
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
