County Lobbies For Grant Money

Health and Human Services Director Jean Rags is confident Hernando County will get a chunk of the federal block grant money earmarked for housing relief, even though the county does not meet certain population parameters.

Rags will plead the county's case during a conference call today with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

"I am very hopeful that we will receive funding," Rags said.

County Commissioner Jeff Stabins said any money that comes in will help people in danger of foreclosure to stay in their homes. And for those homes that have been foreclosed, Stabins said the money could go toward renovation and restoring them to a sellable level.

Rags is a member of a county commission-appointed task force to ensure Hernando County gets its share of the $3.92 billion in federal funding that could be used to ease the foreclosure crisis, stabilize the housing market and create jobs.

Congress recently passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that was directed toward mortgage reform.

It also made available $3.92 billion in supplemental Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for local governments to help with the problem of foreclosed and abandoned homes.

One drawback: Hernando County is a nonentitlement county, which means its population is less than 200,000.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allotted $541 to the state of Florida. Of that, $450 million has already been disbursed to 48 governmental entities - mostly larger, entitlement counties that meet the population threshold.

The rest of the money, $91.1 million, went to the DCA, which has until Dec. 1 to determine how it will allocate the money among the smaller counties and then submit a plan to HUD.

Rags believes DCA officials will look favorably on Hernando County because it is ranked 10th of all Florida counties with the highest percentage of foreclosures.

State and local governments can use the grant money to acquire land and property, demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties or offer down payment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers.