Voluntary Home Buyout Program

PROJECT OVERVIEW: 

Bay County Board of County Commissioners has been awarded $4,411,777.00  to participate in the Voluntary Horne Buyout (VHB) CDBG-DR program. These funds will be used to principally benefit low-and-moderate income persons. Funds will be used to acquire properties that are in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), and in high-risk flood, areas to help reduce the impact of future disasters, and to assist property owners relocating outside the threat of flooding.

Necessary assistance will be provided in the form of buyout and demolition of existing housing units. Housing units deemed eligible for the program will be acquired and demolished in compliance with the local building code and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's standards outlined in the Federal Register Notices.

Awards to eligible homeowners will be based on the overall level of damage in the proposed buyout area, as determined by condemnation, flood levels and/or status as beyond reasonable repair for each property, and the extent to which the proposed buyout program supports overall flood mitigation plans for the area and community.  

Applicants are allowed to appeal program decisions related to one of the following activities: 

  • A program eligibility determination 
  • A program assistance award calculation, or 
  • A program decision concerning housing unit damage and the resulting program outcome. 
  • Any suspected fraud, waste of funding, or abuse. 

Citizens may file a written complaint or appeal through the Office of Long-Term Resiliency by email at CDBG-DR@deo.myflorida.com or submit by postal mail to the following address

 

Attention: Office of Long-Term Resiliency Florida Department of Economic Opportunity 107 East Madison St. 

The Caldwell Building, MSC 160 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 

Subrecipient will handle citizen complaints by conducting: 

  1. Investigations as necessary, 
  2. Resolution, and 
  3. Follow-Up actions. 

If the complainant is not satisfied by Subrecipient’s determination, then the complainant may file a written appeal by following the instructions issued in the letter of response. If, at the conclusion of the appeal’s process, the complainant has not been satisfied with the response, a formal complaint may then be addressed directly to the DEO at: 

Department of Economic Opportunity Caldwell Building, MSC-400

107 E. Madison St. 

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 

The Florida Office of Long-Term Resiliency operates in Accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law (The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988). Anyone who feels he or she has been discriminated against may file a complaint of housing discrimination: 1-800-669-9777 (Toll Free), 1-800-927-9275 (TTY), or www.hud.gov/fairhousing. 

 

Bay County will form a 2–3-person team to make the final decision on formal complaints and appeals at the county level. 

Project Timeline:

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