DELAND, Fla. — Volusia County leaders are seeking feedback about the county’s proposed action plan for Hurricane Milton recovery.

What You Need To Know

  • The Office of Recovery and Resiliency hosted a meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss hurricane relief efforts through the Transform386 Program

  • In October 2024, Hurricane Milton delivered significant damage across Florida, with Volusia County experiencing particularly severe impacts. The county was awarded $133,515,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help with the recovery efforts

  • Dona Butler, director of the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, said the money will be used to help restore infrastructure, repair and replace housing, mitigate future disasters, and revitalize the local economy

  • Residents can submit comments on the action plan on the Transform386 website or via email to transform386@volusia.org until Monday, April 14, 2025, at 5 p.m.

Officials with the county’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency hosted a meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss hurricane relief efforts through the Transform386 Program. 

In October 2024, Hurricane Milton delivered significant damage across Florida, with Volusia County experiencing particularly severe impacts.

The county was awarded just over $133.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help with the recovery efforts.

Dona Butler, director of the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, said the money will be used to help restore infrastructure, repair and replace housing, mitigate future disasters and revitalize the local economy.

“If someone needs repairs or a new home, we can help them with that. We are going to be implementing a buyout program and then we’ll also have a federal match for folks so that if they are applying to Elevate Florida and they need a match, we could provide that match once they’re accepted,” Butler said.

As a requirement from HUD, Transform386 hosted a public hearing to review the proposed action plan on how the money will be spent and get public input. 

“Well, it’s important that the public know how we’re proposing to spend the money that’s going to impact them. And while we use data and we’ve had public meetings across the county, we want to make sure that they understand what we’re doing and that they have an opportunity to provide comment,” Butler said.

The plan states that 47% of the money will go towards infrastructure, 30% will go towards housing and 13% will be for mitigation efforts. The remaining 10% will cover administration and planning expenses. According to the plan, at least 70% of the funds must be used to benefit low-to-moderate-income persons.

“They’re excited about the money coming, but they’re also frustrated. It takes a long time to get the money from HUD here,” Butler said.

She also explained that low-income applicants come first and those with higher income levels will be served later. 

“The next step is for us to take this action plan to the county council for them to review and then to forward on to HUD for their comments and hopefully approval,” Butler said.

She hopes to take it to the county council during the first meeting in May.

Residents can submit comments on the Action Plan on the Transform386 website or via email to transform386@volusia.org until Monday, April 14, 2025, at 5 p.m.