Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on flood assistance:

Hillsborough County authorizes using $5 million in emergency reserves to assist flood damage

• Steve Contorno, Times Staff Writer

Wednesday, August 19, 2015 1:27pm

TAMPA — Hillsborough County will spend up to $5 million to address storm damage and assist areas that remain flooded from heavy rains this summer, commissioners decided Wednesday.

The unanimous vote authorizes County Administrator Mike Merrill to tap into rarely used catastrophic disaster reserves as needed to assist flood victims. The reserve fund has $93.6 million in it.

Merrill is required to report back to the board how the money is spent. It will pay for public works projects related to the flooding.

“This fund, no pun intended, is a rainy day fund,” Commissioner Stacy White said. “That’s set aside exactly for this type” of disaster.

Hundreds of residents in low-lying areas remain affected weeks after the record rainfall. Aging stormwater infrastructure and persistent evening rainstorms have complicated recovery efforts.

One resident told commissioners Wednesday that parts of her north Hillsborough farm are under 10 feet of water and a boat is needed to reach and feed her horses.

Merrill estimated flood damage at $6 million so far, with $2 million of those costs incurred by the county and the rest to the city of Tampa.

“If we have residents in peril we should do something to help them,” Commissioner Sandy Murman said.