Fort Myers Beach questions Elevate Florida's transparency on applications

FORT MYERS BEACH - The town of Fort Myers Beach is raising concerns about the transparency of the Elevate Florida program.

Abigail Eberhart, the town's public information officer, questioned the program's design, asking, "Why is it designed to have so much ambiguity?"

WINK Investigates has been trying to get numbers on how many homeowners were approved or denied by the program. Even local governments are struggling to access this data.

Eberhart shared that over 200 homeowners in Fort Myers Beach applied, but only two were approved. The town is puzzled about why Elevate Florida can't provide details on denied applications.

A breakdown from Fort Myers Beach shows 208 applications, with 192 withdrawn. Nine were involuntarily withdrawn, three were voluntary, and 180 were not prioritized for funding.

The town has reached out to the Florida Division of Emergency Management for clarity on why properties might not be prioritized. Eberhart said, "We have found that that process is not very transparent and we are, you know, we are a little disappointed in that lack of transparency."

WINK Investigates requested data from municipalities in Southwest Florida last year. So far, only Bonita Springs and Punta Gorda have provided a full breakdown of approvals and denials.