The Polk County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on a flood assistance program to help low-income residents replace water heaters, furnaces and electrical panels. The flood assistance program will be jointly administered by the Polk County Public Works Department and staff of the affected cities within Polk County.  

Proposed guidelines for the Polk County flood assistance program are as follows:

• Homeowners who fall below 80 percent of the median income level for Polk County and who have had flood damage will qualify for up to $6,000 to replace their water heater, furnace and electrical panels. Income verification and an inspection by the city the homeowner resides in will be required.
• The intake process and property evaluation will be completed by the city in which the homeowner resides in prior to approval.
• The homeowners will be responsible for soliciting a minimum of two bids to be submitted to Polk County Public Works. Payments will be made by Polk County directly to the contractors upon receipt of itemized invoices.
• The cost for furnace will be capped at $2,750, hot water heater at $1,750 and electrical panel at $1,500, not to exceed $6,000 in total.
• Reimbursement will be available for homeowners who meet the income guidelines that already have replaced these items – paid invoices will be required.
• Owner occupied mobile homes will be eligible for up to $750 for water heaters, furnaces and electrical panels.
• Rental, multifamily and commercial properties are not eligible for this program.

If the program is approved on Tuesday, the application and additional information will be available at www.polkcountyiowa.org.