Since 2018, Bay County has been hit by multiple disasters, including Category 5 Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Sally, Tropical Storm Fred, the Chipola Complex Wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These disasters, in addition to rampant intermittent flooding, led Bay County to look for opportunities to fund essential infrastructure and housing projects. Some of these funding opportunities include the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR), Community Development Block Grant – Voluntary Home Buyout (CDBG-VHB), Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT), and American Rescue Plan (ARP). To date, approximately $70 million in project funding has been awarded. CDR Maguire was procured under a competitive bidding process for all Disaster Related Grants to include FEMA, CDBG, and other Federally Funded Disaster Related Grants.

Since 2018, Bay County has been hit by multiple disasters, including Category 5 Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Sally, Tropical Storm Fred, the Chipola Complex Wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These disasters, in addition to rampant intermittent flooding, led Bay County to look for opportunities to fund essential infrastructure and housing projects. Some of these funding opportunities include the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR), Community Development Block Grant – Voluntary Home Buyout (CDBG-VHB), Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT), and American Rescue Plan (ARP). To date, approximately $70 million in project funding has been awarded. CDR Maguire was procured under a competitive bidding process for all Disaster Related Grants to include FEMA, CDBG, and other Federally Funded Disaster Related Grants. Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery -- CDBG-DR: This program provides federal funding following a natural disaster aimed at helping damaged communities recover with an emphasis on aid to low to moderate-income people to find housing or economic opportunities. The funding may be used for housing or infrastructure projects. Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation – CDBG-MIT: The CDBG-MIT program funds provide eligible state, county, and city governments with assistance in areas impacted by recent disasters for mitigation of disaster risks and reduction of future losses. These specific, high-impact mitigation projects increase resilience to disasters and reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of loss of life, injury, damage to and loss of property, and suffering and hardship by lessening the impact of future disasters. Community Development Block Grant – Voluntary Home Buyout Program -- CDBG-VHB: The Bay County CDBR-VHB program provides funding to purchase hurricane-damaged homes of low- to moderate-income individuals at post-storm fair market value. The purchased property must have a history of repeated flooding. The program repurposes an eligible property into greenspace or a flood mitigation project. Hazard Mitigation Grant Program – HMGP: The Federal Emergency Management Agency's HMGP program provides funding to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild in a way that reduces or mitigates future disaster losses in their communities. When requested by an authorized representative, this grant funding is available after a presidentially declared disaster. In this program, homeowners and businesses cannot apply for a grant. However, a local community may apply for funding on their behalf. All state, local, tribal, and territorial governments must develop and adopt hazard mitigation plans to receive funding for their hazard mitigation projects. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – ARP: The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package intended to speed up the United States' recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession. Complaints on the Disaster Recovery: For any complaints or appeals regarding any HMGP, CDBG, or Voluntary Home Buyout Projects, or any suspected fraud, waste of funding, or abuse, contact Bay County Public Works Department at [email protected] or at 850-248-8301 or file a written complaint to Bay County Public Works, Attn: Chief Infrastructure Officer, 840 W. 11th Street, Panama City, FL 32401.