City Councilman Matt Carlucci plans to introduce emergency legislation so City Council distributes the full $900k that was initially asked for the roof repair fund.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Within an hour of opening the program, the City of Jacksonville‘s roof repair program application window was closed because so many people applied for assistance.
Last fall Mayor Donna Deegan asked City Council for $900,000 for a roof repair program, but Council only approved $500,000.
Matt Carlucci, City Council At-Large Group 4, plans to file emergency legislation to have City Council approve the remainder of the $900,000 so more people can have financial assistance in getting their roofs repaired. He said this is an important program, and based on the demand, clearly a lot of people need the help.
“This is a program that is going to help a lot of people stay in their house Carlucci said. “Help them have a house that’s buttoned up and not leaking retain their insurance, their mortgage and living their life.”
That’s why he was frustrated that City Council did not initially approve the total funds for the program that the mayor asked for.
“I knew that was a mistake, I knew how quickly the money would be accounted for and within 30 minutes the money was gone because there is a huge need for it out there,” said Carlucci.
Carlucci has been on City Council for 17 years, but he’s operated an insurance company for 43 years and said he knew there would be a high demand for roof repair funding and thought those funds should not be cut.
“I told them at the time, you can do that if you want to, but I’ll have to come back and ask for the rest later,” he said. “I’ll just put this in my ‘I told you so’ file.”
Carlucci said that this is not a political issue to him, but rather he said his emergency legislation is about government helping people who need assistance.
“If they don’t get the roof put on the house they can lose their insurance,” said Carlucci, “if they have a mortgage it could be forced place insurance on their home which is hugely expensive and they could wind up losing their house.”
Carlucci said he drafted the bill on Wednesday and plans to introduce it to City Council before their next meeting on Tuesday. He added that he hopes as many people as possible can get assistance in repairing their roof before hurricane season starts.
When First Coast News reached out to the City of Jacksonville for comment regarding the program reaching capacity the city provided the following statement:
Due to overwhelming community response and limited funding, the waiting list for the Home Roof Rehabilitation pilot program has exceeded the maximum number of applications and is currently closed. As we work to identify and open additional funding sources, applications will be reopened at a future date. We will continue to notify the public about those opportunities.
The current level of $500,000 in funding covers roof rehabilitation for up to 35 homes, and the waiting list was capped at 125 applications based on this amount. This morning, 270 applications were received before the waiting list was closed. This overwhelming demand demonstrates the importance of fully funding the program. The original budget request of $946,000 was reduced to $500,000 through the Finance Committee process, leaving $446,000 available below the line.
Next, the City of Jacksonville Neighborhoods Department, Housing and Community Development Division, will begin vetting applications on the waiting list. This includes confirmation of a home insurance company or code enforcement letter, income and residency verification, and additional criteria. Applicants who clear the vetting phase will receive a more comprehensive application to complete. Once a completed application is fully approved, it will be sent through the procurement process before roofing work can begin.
For more information about the city’s Home Roof Rehabilitation Program, visit this website: https://www.jacksonville.gov/welcome/news/city-of-jacksonville-launching-home-roof-rehabilit
