District 6 Update

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak before the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee regarding a piece of legislation (Senate Bill 620) that would have significant negative impacts on Palm Beach County and local governments throughout Florida.

Standing side by side with my colleagues from across the state on behalf of the Florida Association of Counties, we explained to the Senate Committee that while their intentions were probably well-intended, there were a number of potential public safety dangers with the legislation. On the outside, this bill presents itself as a business protection bill. We can all agree that while encouraging supportive environments for our local businesses to succeed is a priority for all, there are circumstances where local governments must make immediate decisions to protect the safety of our residents.

The bill would authorize Florida businesses in operation for a specified number of years to sue local governments if those businesses believed that the actions of a local government caused a revenue reduction to that business of 15% or more. Had this piece of legislation been law back around 2010-2012 when Palm Beach County suddenly found itself in the midst of an increasingly deadly opioid overdose public health crisis caused at the hands of dangerous pain management clinic practices otherwise known as “pill mills”, the County could have been sued by the pill mill operators when the County Commission issued a moratorium to halt the spread of these deadly drug dealing businesses disguised as pain clinics. As the bill was originally written, our moratorium would have been temporarily halted as lawsuits worked their way through the court system while we continued to see headlines with photographs of babies crying in the backseat of cars operated by passed out parents in parking lots.

Thankfully, the sponsor of the legislation, Senator Travis Hudson, has been willing to listen to some of these concerns and we are currently discussing possible changes to the proposed legislation. Overall, local government leaders oppose preemptive measures in Tallahassee in the same fashion Tallahassee leaders oppose preemptive measures passed along to them by Washington decisions. But, we will take the opportunities given to us to have healthy public policy decisions with the hope that we come to some sort of agreeable proposed policy. If I’ve learned anything in my public service, it’s better to walk away with a few small victories than one large defeat. I will continue to use my voice before our state and federal leaders to protect the rights of local communities to drive local decisions.

Press Release!

Housing Rehabilitation Assistance

Palm Beach County’s Department of Housing and Economic Development (HED) has announced the availability of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation assistance funds for Fiscal Year 2021-2022. 

Funding will assist income eligible homeowners, residing in the unincorporated area of Palm Beach County, with substantial rehabilitation to correct code violations or items that will soon become a code violation. Properties MUST be located within a federally designated Qualified Census Tract (QCT). Properties located outside of a QCT, may not be eligible to apply for assistance. NOTE: Applicant must provide a statement on how their household was financially impacted by COVID. PROPERTY’S ASSESSED VALUE CANNOT EXCEED $352,371.

ARPA Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program applications will be available online by visiting the website at https://pbcgov.com/HED beginning Monday, January 24, 2021 at 8:00am – Monday, February 28, 2022 at 11:59pm (or until 90 applications have been submitted). Applications will be processed on a first submitted, first qualified, first served basis, subject to funding availability. NOTE: Additional program information and required documents needed for application submittal are available on the website at pbcgov.com/HED.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: ALL applicants are required to attend a Virtual Mandatory Orientation prior to application submittal. Interested parties may register at https://survey.pbcgov.com/s3/HED-Owner-Occupied-Housing-Rehabilitation beginning Monday, December 13, 2021. NOTE: Applications will not be reviewed if proof of orientation attendance is not provided.

For additional information, please contact:

Palm Beach County Department of Housing and Economic Development (HED)

Mortgage and Housing Investments Division

Telephone: (561) 233-3600

Email: HEDverify@pbcgov.org

Grocery Card Program

The Palm Beach County Community Services Department (CSD) has launched a new Grocery Card Program for eligible Palm Beach County residents. The department is issuing $400 pre-loaded grocery cards to be used for food purchases within the county. The program will end when the funding source has been depleted.

To qualify, at least one or more individuals within a household must meet the following criteria:

·        Qualifies for unemployment or experienced a reduction of household income, or incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardships due to COVID-19; and,

·        Has not received a food card in the past from Palm Beach County Community Services Department; and,

·        Has a household income at or below 200% Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG).

All participants must be able to provide documentation to prove they were impacted financially by the COVID-19 crisis. Applications must be submitted online; this program is a limited-time offer and is subject to funding availability.

For a full list of eligibility requirements and to apply, visit www.FoodAssistancePBC.org. 

For additional information, please contact the CSD’s Contact Center at 561-355-4700.