Residents and advocacy groups urge county to spend $709 million disaster grant on an ‘affordable energy and climate’ plan; commission opens planning process

Dozens of residents and advocacy groups urged the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 19 to adopt an “Affordable Energy and Climate Plan” and to use a newly announced federal disaster-recovery grant to fund energy-efficiency and resilience projects.

The push coincided with a county presentation that said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had notified Hillsborough County on Jan. 21 that it would receive an allocation of $709,000,000 in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for damages from the 2023–24 hurricane seasons. Tom Fesler, the county’s chief financial administrator, said the county must prepare an HUD action plan and submit it within the 90-day window or request an extension; at least 70% of the funds must benefit low- and moderate-income people or areas and at least 15% must be used for mitigation.

“Projects that promote clean energy, energy efficiency, and climate adaptation — this funding is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Hillsborough County,” Brooke Ward, senior Florida organizer with Food & Water Watch, told the commission during the public-comment period.