TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Expect Storm Of My Safe Florida Hurricane Inspectors

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOHN W. ALLMAN

jallman@tampatrib.com

Published: January 19, 2009

TAMPA - If you've never heard of My Safe Florida Home, the state's free hurricane inspection program, chances are you soon will.

Officials are scrambling to meet a legislative requirement to have 400,000 inspections complete with only five months to go.

As of Wednesday, 388,193 inspections had been performed since state lawmakers created My Safe Florida Home in 2006. The program contracts work through nine companies; their deadline to finish all inspections is June 30. Residents statewide can expect a marketing blitz between now and then.

Tami Torres, program administrator, said the nine firms have been ordered to complete 1,500 inspections each in the next 90 days. If successful, the program would exceed its goal.

The firms can solicit people who are on a state waiting list or recruit homeowners who have never requested an inspection.

"We just want to make sure we meet the Legislature's goal," she said.

Torres said one reason for the shortfall is that thousands who requested a free inspection did not respond to the firms' multiple attempts to schedule an appointment.

My Safe Florida Home was created to help residents prepare for storms by giving free inspections and awarding grants up to $5,000 to make safety improvements.

Legislators allocated $250 million to the state Department of Financial Services, which administers the program, to complete 400,000 inspections and award 35,000 grants.

The grants are limited to residents within the state's wind-borne debris region, which typically extends inland about a mile from the coast. Much of Hillsborough County is outside that boundary. The grants match what homeowners spend, up to $5,000, to replace windows and doors and better secure their roofs.

The program is also short of meeting its goal for grants awarded. As of December, about 14,000 people had yet to request a reimbursement because improvements had not been completed. In some cases, the work hasn't started. Any money not allocated by June will go back into the state's general fund.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is asking the Legislature to allocate an additional $25 million to perform more inspections and award more grants. If the program fails to meet its current goals and spend its initial allocation, however, that request likely would be denied.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT