The mayor of Fort Lauderdale and its city manager made their way to Washington D.C. where they have a busy itinerary Thursday.
NBC6 had a chance to speak with Mayor Dean Trantalis before he boarded his flight. They have urgent requests for federal officials.
“The most urgent request is to try to get funding from FEMA because that's going to give folks here money to be able to bring their lives back together,” Trantalis said.
Almost 1,100 homes received major damage from the nearly 26 inches that fell over Fort Lauderdale between April 12-13.
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And it’s not just homes that suffered — several businesses are still reeling from catastrophic losses that some even had to lay off employees.
Over in downtown, city hall also suffered major damage. Images displayed during a recent meeting show submerged vehicles and trash cans. The mayor said the building is unsafe to enter.
“We're hoping to be able to meet with federal officials in order to see if we can find funding to replace city hall as well as to find money to help fund with the interim cost that we're going to have to sustain while we're waiting for a new city hall to be built,” Trantalis said.
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Trantalis said they’re hoping to tap into money from President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan to build a new city hall.
On Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced he will request a major disaster declaration for Broward County. If approved, the designation will provide federal funding for individuals and public infrastructure.
“The state has been very responsive,” Trantalis said. “Of course, we'd always welcome a visit from the governor, but I mean, we're not looking to find fault, we're just looking to find solutions and a path forward.”
Trantalis said they’re also looking to meet with South Florida's Congress representatives while they’re in DC.
