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Largo gets more than $1 million in federal money for hurricane cleanup

 
Largo has received more than $1 million in federal money for Hurricane Irma cleanup. [Times (2017]
Largo has received more than $1 million in federal money for Hurricane Irma cleanup. [Times (2017]
Published April 18, 2019

LARGO — Assistant Finance Director Rebecca Spuhler probably felt like a million bucks recently when she checked on the status of the city's Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement request for costs incurred related to Hurricane Irma.

That's because Spuhler, who has been leading the painstaking effort to collect and submit all the necessary documentation, learned the agency had just awarded $1,063,701 to the city.

Spuhler said the delay has been the result of a complicated vetting process, which calls for all expenditures and documentation to go through FEMA before being routed to the Florida Division of Emergency Management's auditors who distribute the money.

Even if those funds are officially approved, the city still has a long way to go before receiving all the money it has requested.

"Our total estimated submission is around $2.6 million, and this would bring our total obligation to $1,240,000, so we're about half way," she said.