TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida League of Cities, the united voice for Florida’s municipal governments, yesterday announced the election of its officers for the 2020-2021 term. The officers were elected and installed during the association’s annual business meeting held virtually this afternoon. City of Orlando Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Ortiz was elected president of the Florida League of Cities,…
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that the Florida legislature will fund $10 million toward hundreds of families to rebuild or purchase homes in the Panhandle following the disaster of 2018′s Category 5 Hurricane Michael. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation will relaunch, for the second year, its Hurricane Michael recovery loan program. The program is to…
Delray Beach is considering a variety of changes to help give a boost to businesses recently hurt by the pandemic. This includes using more outdoor space to support local businesses to expand their services. In response to the state of emergency from the coronavirus, the city worked with the Community Redevelopment Agency, the chamber of…
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson toured some of Fort Myers’ lower-income communities Wednesday to tout a program meant to revitalize neighborhoods. The Opportunity Zone incentive was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and is meant to provide tax incentives for projects in low-income communities that have traditionally been underdeveloped. There…
At the end of last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $280,000 has been awarded to eight small and rural communities through the Competitive Florida Partnership grant program administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The Competitive Florida program establishes a partnership between the community and DEO to create a strategic vision to advance their economic development needs while…
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Panama City Beach’s CRA Advisory Committee want to bring new improvements to the area and on an accelerated timeline. The committee held their meeting Monday afternoon and discussed multiple potential projects some of which included smart lighting for the city, better wayfinding, and placing fencing in medians in high…
Households have until Sept. 30 to complete their U.S. Census questionnaires, which determine how billions of dollars in federal spending is distributed and how many congressional districts each state gets. With less than two months remaining for households to respond to the U.S. Census, local municipalities are ramping up efforts to encourage residents to complete their questionnaires. In…
CLEARWATER, FL — The city of Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency has launched a new voucher program to spur downtown dining and the heart of Cleveland Street will remain closed to vehicle traffic to offer more room for distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The CRA’s new pilot program is a limited time, limited quantity voucher program…
Business and Industry (B&I) CARES Act Program USDA is making available up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to help rural businesses meet their working capital needs during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, agricultural producers that are not eligible for USDA Farm Service Agency loans may receive funding under USDA B&I CARES Act Program provisions included in the…
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Coastal Management Program announces the opening of the Coastal Partnership Initiative funding opportunity for Fiscal Year 2021-22. Funding is available for Florida’s 35 coastal counties. Any municipalities within the designated county boundaries, and which are required to include a coastal element in their local comprehensive plan, are eligible.…
AMERICA’S CITIES ARE hurting. Our nation is battling the twin challenges of a public health crisis precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disastrous economic fallout that it has wrought on our communities. In fact, research from the National League of Cities shows that nearly 100% of cities will see a revenue decline this year. To meet these outsized needs,…
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced on Monday that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved the state of Florida’s Action Plan for more than $735 million in funding for long-term recovery efforts for Hurricane Michael-impacted communities. Hurricane Michael hit the state in October 2018. The funds are allocated through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster…
