Pinellas County staff updated commissioners on People First Pinellas recovery programs on Jan. 6, saying early disbursements validated the application and reimbursement systems but outreach and documentation remain the main constraints to scaling payments.

Matt (program lead) said 12 checks were issued in December, totaling just over $400,000, and the county completed two federal drawdowns for about $375,000. He told the board the county's application portal is recover.pinellas.gov and urged commissioners to help drive awareness through city newsletters and local presentations.

Staff reported nearly 3,000 active applications under review and said disaster relief payments and homeowner rehabilitation/reconstruction are the programs with the most demand. Reasons for nonactive or disqualified applications included applicants living outside program boundaries, applications submitted in St. Petersburg (which has a separate program) and income-disqualification for some households.

Case management is central to the process, staff said: each applicant is assigned a case manager who can make three-way calls with utility providers and help collect documents. Staff estimated the homeowner reconstruction program can take about a year from intake to final completion, while disaster relief payments and homebuyer assistance have shorter expected lead times (about 90 days for a complete intake to payment or letter of eligibility, respectively, when documents are complete).

Staff and commissioners discussed outreach strategies to mobile-home communities and floodplain neighborhoods and suggested targeted events, presentations to local business alliances and city council sharing of slides. Staff also announced an addendum to the general-contractor solicitation published Dec. 19 that reset the proposal due date to Jan. 23 and set a contractor on-boarding timeline that could allow construction-related work to begin in February or March.

Why it matters: Successful execution of the People First Pinellas programs could deliver immediate housing and repair relief to thousands of residents affected by recent storms, but the county needs more applications, better documentation collection and continued outreach to reach eligible households.

Next steps: Staff will send commissioners a proposed applicant-facing information sheet and a mass email to applicants with timelines and a survey; the county will monitor fallout rates, refine outreach and return with additional program metrics and contract updates.