Longboat Key estimates $5.3M financial impact from 2024 hurricanes

As the town of Longboat Key continues to recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton, town finance staff required commissioners to approve some budget amendments related to hurricane response. 

At the commission's Feb. 3 meeting, commissioners approved the budget amendments and received a hurricane-related financial update from Finance Director Sue Smith. 

Overall, the total impact on the town's various funds totals $5,327,978, which includes $1,887,522 in open purchase orders. 

The full cost of debris removal is still to be determined, but current estimates are around $2.6 million. Most of the town's $1.8 million in open purchase orders are for debris removal, with invoices from Hurricane Milton still to come. 

Some expenses are still to be determined, like repairing damages to the town's parks and recreation facilities. 

"The parks and properties in our open spaces, specifically our boardwalk systems, took a lot of damage," Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman said. "The $2 million (estimate) is looking like a very real order of magnitude." 

To address emergency expenditures in the event of hurricanes, the town has a contingency budget and a natural disaster reserve. 

The contingency budget, which started at $250,000, was left with $115,086 after the Feb. 3 budget amendments. 

Then there's the disaster reserve, which town staff aims to have saved up to equal 60 days worth of expenses, or about $3,738,000. 

After a budget amendment in December 2024 to account for hurricane expenditures, $2,961,000 was depleted from the emergency fund balance.

Now, after the recent budget amendment for $300,000, the emergency reserves are left with $477,000, or about eight days of expenditures. 

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

The town still has two other emergency reserves, one for unassigned purposes and another for economic uncertainty, each with about $3.7 million. 

These budget amendments allow the town's finance department to move funds from reserves or other funds to be used to pay the purchase orders or expenditures related to the hurricanes. 

While the money is needed upfront to respond, the town will pursue insurance and other claims through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But those are reimbursement-based claims that can't be considered at the moment.

"We're not taking into consideration any insurance that might come in and the FEMA reimbursements, because we just don't know when that will happen," Smith said. 

Depending on the category of the claim and when it is declared, the town could receive between 75% to 100% reimbursement for some of the hurricane-related expenditures mentioned in these budget lines. 

Here is a breakdown of some of the key numbers to date: 

$5.3 million

Estimated total fund impact on the town's budget, including to the General Fund, Tennis Fund, Streets Capital Fund, Beach Capital Fund, Building Fund and Utility Capital Fund. 

$2.6 million

Spent on debris removal so far. Of that total, $1.2 million has already been billed, but invoices related to Milton were delayed. The total expense of island-wide debris removal is still to be determined. 

$2 million

In damages quoted for town parks and recreation facilities. According to town staff, none of the repairs require immediate response. The quoted damage includes repairs or replacements for public works infrastructure like boardwalks, beach access areas, fencing, town docks and boat lifts.

$764,000

Requested to address the town’s lift station electrical panels, including replacing the electrical panels at some of the lift stations, cleaning, debris removal and replacing other components of the lift stations. 

$498,320

Requested to be moved from the Building Fund to account for overtime wages, professional services and other equipment used by the Planning, Zoning and Building Department for hurricane response. This includes the need to hire supplemental staffing and about $175,000 in overtime wages. 

$100,000

For repairs or adjustments to 41 streetlights along Gulf of Mexico Drive and 76 in the neighborhoods that Public Works identified after the hurricanes. 

Up to $20 million

In lost sand as a result of Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton. The town will pursue Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance in future beach nourishment projects to replenish the lost sand.