Monterey County has been working to deliver recovery funds to Pajaro residents and businesses in the aftermath of the March 2023 floods for almost a year.
Out of $10 million for direct aid to residents and businesses, just over a quarter has been spent so far. That leaves nearly $7.5 million to distribute before Dec. 31, 2025.
Kelsey Scanlon, director of Monterey County Emergency Management, expected this pace.
“In fact I might actually say it’s moving a lot faster, when you consider that establishing a government program almost out of thin air from the ground up…is quite significant,” Scanlon said during a press conference on Dec. 18.
Yet, the reality is that many Pajaro residents are still waiting to be reimbursed for flood damage. One reason for the delay is that in order to be reimbursed, people need to provide receipts for damaged property.
During the press conference, Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino said Pajaro is a largely cash-based community.
“Meaning, [if] they buy a truck, they might pay in cash, right?” Cancino said. “And so, having a receipt that wasn’t flooded at the time, without a banking structure that is in the back end keeping those records, is sometimes difficult.”
In the months following the floods, Monterey County approved 90% of applications for evacuation support and grocery assistance. But so far during the second phase — which focuses on home and vehicle repairs, housing assistance and personal property damage — only about a quarter of applications have been approved.
Scanlon recognized that the pace has been too slow for many residents who are still waiting and said she expected more people to be approved in the coming year.
Additionally, all 688 households who received evacuation support or grocery assistance are automatically eligible for an additional $200-$1,000, depending on household size. Community Bridges will contact all eligible residents within the next 60 days to let them know how to access this aid.
The county is slowly allocating another $10 million in disaster relief funds to community-wide resources and programs, including infrastructure projects and an emergency alert system.
