DeSantis announces disbursement of millions in disaster relief funds

With the help of the recently signed federal disaster relief law in Washington, hurricane recovery efforts continue in Florida.

The federal disaster dollars President Trump  approved, plus the state funds already allocated for clean-up efforts, which is under the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the FL Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), tens of millions of dollars continue to be disbursed to industries affected by the recent natural events.

DeSantis has announced that “$13 million is on the way to Palm Beach County and $7 million is on the way to Manatee County,” for Hurricane Irma recovery efforts.

The money is being fast-tracked by the State Emergency Response Team (SERT).

DeSantis also announced that some $77 million in relief has been expedited to the citrus industry, which is considered by some as being part of the backbone of the Florida economy.

According to a press release sent out by his Executive Office, DeSantis delivered the good and welcome news at this week’s 19^th Annual Florida Citrus Industry Conference event.

 “The health of Florida’s iconic citrus industry is vital to our state’s economy,” said Governor DeSantis. “I’m proud that we’ve been able to step up to the plate and get funding to our citrus growers who are still recovering from Hurricane Irma. I look forward to continuing to work with the citrus industry and our federal partners to ensure we continue to expedite the release of these funds.”

 “When I took over as the FDEM Director, Florida’s citrus recovery program was broken,” said FDEM Director Jared Moskowitz. “By working with our partners in the citrus industry and the federal government, Governor DeSantis made it a top priority to get this program back on track. Since January, we’ve fixed this system and approved more than $77 million for Florida’s citrus industry.”