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DeSantis Says Collier County Will Get $40 Million For Irma Recovery

Andrea Perdomo
/
WGCU
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Collier County Government Center in Naples.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Naples on Tuesday to make an announcement about hurricane recovery relief.

DeSantis said relief funds often get tied up in bureaucracy and local governments sometimes find themselves in debt for things like debris pickup.

In January, the Florida Division of Emergency Management implemented new procedures to accelerate federal reimbursements for Hurricanes Irma, Matthew and Hermine.

"We need to be able to get folks the resources quicker," DeSantis said. "If there was money caught in the pipeline, we wanted to push it out so that the communities can get what they needed."

New FDEM procedures have resulted in reimbursements for Palm Beach, Volusia and Leon Counties along with the cities of Miami and Jacksonville for Hurricane Irma recovery.  

DeSantis announced Collier County will be receiving the largest reimbursement for Hurricane Irma.

"A total of $40.9 million to Collier County for Hurricane Irma recovery effective today," DeSantis said.

DeSantis said $104 million has been disbursed statewide for Hurricane Irma recovery so far this year.

Andrea Perdomo is a reporter for WGCU News. She started her career in public radio as an intern for the Miami-based NPR station, WLRN. Andrea graduated from Florida International University, where she was a contributing writer for the student-run newspaper, The Panther Press, and was also a member of the university's Society of Professional Journalists chapter.