TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Three months after Hurricane Michael pummeled the Florida Panhandle, the storm's costs are continuing to mount, complicating the state budget outlook just as new leadership arrives in Tallahassee.
- Hurricane Michael recovery costs continue to increase
- DeSantis transition committee says recovery costs could spiral upward
- Economists forecast $1.5B state budget surplus for 2019-20 fiscal year
While the hurricane only impacted 10 counties, its projected price tag has already eclipsed that of Hurricane Irma, which affected more than 40 counties in 2017.
Michael's damage is so extensive, emergency managers told Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis' Government Operations Transition Advisory Committee this week that recovery costs could easily spiral upward.
"Our conservative estimate is that this will be a $4.25 billion storm," said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the State Emergency Response Team. "My gut tells me it's going to be probably closer to $5 (billion) or more. So, again, just a lot of money that is being paid out and will be paid out on that particular disaster."
Though state economists are forecasting a $1.5 billion state budget surplus for the 2019-20 fiscal year, increasing storm recovery costs could wipe much of it away.
That, in turn, could deal a blow to DeSantis' agenda. The governor-elect has proposed potentially expensive solutions to the state's toxic algae bloom crisis and called for directing more funding to classrooms.