Santa Rosa County missed out on critical infrastructure funding for the current fiscal year because county staff failed to meet a deadline from the Florida Department of Transportation, despite multiple meetings and reminders from the state agency.
The funding program, called Small County Outreach Program (SCOP), allots $20 million each year to counties in FDOT s District 3 that have fewer than 200,000 residents. The money is intended for critical road repaving and reconstruction projects.
Out of the 16 counties in FDOT s District 3, only three are not eligible for the program because of population size Escambia, Okaloosa and Leon. Of the 13 eligible counties, only Santa Rosa did not apply for SCOP funding this year.