TAMPA — More than half the families who said they needed help from Hillsborough County to pay their rent or utilities never followed through to document their eligibility, county officials said Wednesday.
Because of that, a significant amount of the $15 million in federal aid is still available, and the county plans to soon start a second phase of the application process, said Audrey Ziegler, Hillsborough’s director of social services.
In a report to county commissioners Wednesday, Ziegler said the county accepted 4,891 pre-screened applications since the program began April 27. So far, however, only 2,024 applicants have been accepted.
The effort is part of the rapid-response funding from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It broadened the county’s existing programs providing rent, mortgage and utility payments to new clients. Without the federal assistance, the county typically spends about $8 million annually helping the needy.
To qualify, the applicant must be a Hillsborough County resident. He or she must provide valid photo identification as well as documents showing past-due notices for rent, mortgage or utilities, income loss because of the coronavirus pandemic and limited savings.
A review found 423 of the pre-screened households were ineligible because they had sufficient savings to meet their obligations or did not show their loss of wages was tied to COVID-19. Another 200 applications were duplicates from the same household, said Ziegler.
But the largest question mark was the 2,244 pre-screened applicants who never provided the eligibility documentation requested.
“We’re really not sure what happened with those,’’ said Ziegler.
She said the county staff would try to contact the applicants over the next 30 days to find out why they didn’t complete the process.
“I think we should find out a little more about what happened to those 2,244 residents,’’ she told commissioners.
Some applicants may have declined to complete the process when they realized the program would not send a check to the households, but instead would make direct payments to the utility, landlord or mortgage-holder, she said.
Commission Chairman Les Miller said he heard complaints from constituents about the process, and he complimented Ziegler and her staff for trying to resolve the issues.
Ziegler said the second phase would include a self-serve option so people can apply without talking to a call center representative. She agreed with Miller’s sentiment.
“People are frustrated with the process. They want a very easy process ... but it’s very important for us to make sure that people are eligible,’’ she said.
Related:
Ron Barton, assistant county administrator for economic prosperity, told commissioners the county aimed to launch its business recovery programs in early June. With 40,000 businesses and 100,000 people unemployed, "the scale of interest and potential applicants could be very overwhelming. Everything (social services) has experienced, but on steroids,'' he said.
Earlier this month, the commission set the parameters for spending $256.8 million in CARES funding with dollars aimed at workforce training, business recovery, life safety, safer-at-home mitigation and back-to-work grants. The estimated dollar amounts in the various categories range from $15 million to $85 million, depending on demand.
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