Volusia Approves Loan Covering Hurricane Funds Not Received From FEMA

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Volusia County, FL - Update: During its Thursday meeting, the Volusia County Council unanimously voted in favor of a short-term loan that funds hurricane recovery costs not yet covered by FEMA. The Council also introduced Robert Stephens as the new General Manager of Votran and voted to change the County Council meeting dates to Tuesdays starting February 6. Earlier Reporting: At its Thursday meeting, the Volusia County Council will vote on a short-term loan from the general fund that would cover FEMA hurricane recovery money that the County had not received by the end of the fiscal year. The County had requested $16.5 million in FEMA reimbursements for Hurricane Matthew recovery and $5 million in FEMA reimbursements for Hurricane Irma repairs, according to County records. Those reimbursements had not been received as of December 19, 2017, so The Council will decide Thursday whether or not to approve a short-term loan from the County's general fund that would include the money to cover those costs as well as other grant-related expenditures. The loan would be repaid during this fiscal year once the County receives the reimbursements. In addition to the $21.5 million in hurricane funds, the loan would also cover $5.6 million in various grant funds and $1.6 million in Votran funds that had not been reimbursed as of the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2017. Below is a list of the loan requests, the amounts, and the amounts that were reimbursed as of December 19, 2017, courtesy County records:

At its meeting, the Council is also expected to introduce the new General Manager of Volusia County Transit, Robert Stephens. Stephens began his new position as Votran's General Manager on January 1 of this year. He previously served as the General Manager of "EZ-Rider" transit service in Texas. The Council is also expected to vote on changing its meeting dates from Thursdays to the first and third Tuesdays of each month. If adopted by the Council, County Council meeting dates would switch to Tuesdays effective February 6. Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2018.