TAMPA, Fla. — Hurricane Irma left this Tampa couple with a leaky roof, and they weren’t sure how they would afford to repair the damage until they heard about Rebuild Florida. It’s a program developed to help long-term recovery from recent hurricanes.
“We have some scope of work paper here that showed the original project of what it was supposed be. We were supposed to have three ramps,” Jane Moore said. “These were ramps originally built out the doorways, and it was going to wrap around [the] front of [the] house and down the side by the carport.”
Moore thought her prayers had been answered.
The approved Rebuild Florida applicants would get their homes repaired or replaced. Many of them are low-income or disabled.
“Are they asking you ever like, hey, what damage was done? This is what you need done. Or when did those conversations start?” asked 10 Investigates' Jennifer Titus.
“That didn't start until Rebuild (Florida) actually came in and looked at the property,” Moore said. “They did an inspection. They did a walkthrough; they took tons of pictures.”
Pictures, Moore says, led to promises
“I was so happy and surprised at all the work that was going to be done,” Moore said. “We were going to get ramps, three ramps, out the front door, side door and back door. The accessible bathroom situation. And the lead paint and the hurricane windows.”
The couple didn’t have ramps before they signed up for the program but were told their home would be brought up to code for someone with a disability. Records obtained by 10 Investigates show the total project cost of $77,159.
But when Moore and her partner, Robert Myers, arrived home, they discovered the three ramps had been built in front of the house.
“We have this crack, too,” as Moore shows 10 Investigates the problems with the installed windows.
According to this notice from Rebuild, the state says the project is complete.
That’s why she fears she’s one of FloridaCommerce’s statistics. They say 3,529 homes have been completed in the Hurricane Irma Home Repair and Replacement program. However, Moore says the project is far from complete, after spending 433 days in a hotel room — and now they question if the program was worth the wait.
“I would come home every day to check the mail. And every day, I would notice that no one's been here month after month after month. So, it was not being worked on at all,” Moore said.
Records show that the couple's hotel room cost Rebuild more than $86,000. That total is more than the final scope of work the contractor charged for this project. Their story started our investigation, raising questions about managing and overseeing this $480 million program.
Ballooning bills
Working with our partners at First Coast News WTLV-TV in Jacksonville, we found numerous people who shared with us their hotel bills, which cost from $80,000 to $100,000 to sometimes even $200,000. That’s when we started taking an even closer look at the contracts.
Moore’s final scope of work was nearly double their original project costs at $41,000. We then found this 2022 audit pointing out that the state overspent. The audit looked at just seven projects out of the roughly 4,000, saying the state overspent by more than $107,000 and misclassified another $134,000. We sent our findings to the nonpartisan watchdog group Project on Government Oversight.
“I'm shocked that a project of this size, in terms of dollars in terms of households that are being addressed, has a single public audit of seven properties. It is simply insufficient when it comes to real robust oversight, which is what's needed here. This is taxpayers’ money,” Senior Policy Analyst Sean Moulton said.
Our investigative team looked at dozens of other contracts. These tripled or quadrupled in price. One went from $32,000 to $276,000. Another went from $49,000 to $342,000. There was even one that went from $103,000 to $877,000 of taxpayer money.
“It raises serious questions about the overall management of the project and the program,” Moulton said.
FloridaCommerce told 10 Investigates that some of the scope of work was done before the pandemic, and inflation was the major factor for the increase. One of the projects, the one that ballooned to $877,000, they say turned out to be a historic property, which drove up costs.
“Sometimes, from that original scope that was done in 2019, when we go back to do the work, we find that there is other work required to put them back into the decent, safe and sanitary home,” Long-term Resiliency Director Justin Domer said.
Moulton also questions the costs of hotel bills. We obtained an email between Rebuild management and a contractor questioning spending at least $83,000 for one person’s room.
“It's taxpayers’ money, and it raises questions about prioritization of these projects. If you have people who you either putting up in hotels or some other temporary housing, those projects should be given priority,” Moulton said.
However, some homeowners say they were never made a priority. That includes Mary Simpson. She’s still waiting to get back into her home in Valrico.
“I thought I would have a roof over my head by now. I mean, our family would be in a house. I mean, like last year for Thanksgiving. No, no. Some you got another hiccup of you know, got another hiccup come Christmas. I just — when it comes, it comes,” Simpson said.
Homeowners complain of issues
Freddy Brooks of Jacksonville has gotten his house keys but has yet to move in because he says the contractor ran over the septic tank, which collapsed. He showed us a red light on the side of his home.
“That’s the alarm on the septic tank saying that the pump’s not working,” he added.
The veteran pointed out other problems inside his home, including a dryer and dishwasher that never worked.
“That window has a crack,” Brooks said.
Families have repeatedly complained to state agencies like the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Attorney General’s Office, and the governor’s office. Those complaints were sent back to FloridaCommerce. When we asked FloridaCommerce for the number of complaints and the complaint forms received, we were told it would cost $4,830.
At Moore’s Tampa home, there was a to-do list.
“We’re still waiting for this window to be installed,” Moore said. “There’s no ramp here.”
She continues to complain until somebody answers.
“We didn't expect all the spackling on the walls,” Moore said. “I hate to say a horrible program because the program, as initiated, was a good program. It's been mishandled and misrepresented. I can't tell you how many different contractors we've had throughout this whole thing.”
The good news is that FloridaCommerce is listening. We are seeing major changes because of this investigation. They have been out to many properties we’ve shown you, looking to fix their ongoing issues. Already, a contractor has been out to Moore’s home to fix her windows since our original interview in March.