TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County officials are asking the public to weigh in on how they should spend more than $700 million in storm relief money.

Elaine Belba lives in the Homes of Regency Cove, a mobile home community in Tampa.

“Our electric was out for over a month, and it kept going off and on,” she said.

Belba and her neighbors have continued feeling the impact of last year’s hurricanes, eight months later.

“We are a community of at least 400+ senior citizens, and we were very hard hit by both hurricanes,” she said.

She and over 80 others carved out some time from their Monday evening to hear how Hillsborough County officials plan to spend $709 million of federal aid on storm recovery. 

The proposal puts $35 million toward administration, $5 million for planning, $360 million for housing, $107 million for infrastructure, $180 million on the economy and $12 million for public services.

John Ray questioned why the county wasn’t prepared to handle the intense devastation of last hurricane season.

“Before the hurricane, did you ever plan for a hurricane to hit us?” he asked. “As a teacher, we had specific procedures. If there was a shooter on campus, we had to push that button.”

“Do we have a plan for an active shooter?” Assistant County Administrator Cheryl Howell responded. “Yes, we do.”

“But if 50 active shooters show up then the plan is difficult at best,” she continued. “When (there’s) two back-to-back, devastating hurricanes within a two-week period, then it’s difficult to manage that plan.”

At last week’s meeting, 8 On Your Side heard residents’ concerns.

“Ten million dollars for flood mitigation wouldn’t even cover this area,” one person said into the microphone during public comment.

So we took that issue straight to Howell.

News Channel 8 reporter Nicole Rogers asked, “To the people who say it’s not enough money, what would your response be?”

“I want to say, it’s a beginning,” she said. “It’s a beginning.”

“It’s a beginning of a process,” she clarified. “Restoration takes time and those are things we must endure.”