The rest of Bay County is apparently still waiting.
Al Cathey, mayor of Mexico Beach, said his city recently got $2.4 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — the first government in the county to get any reimbursement money from the agency in the nearly five months since the disaster. According to FEMA, money hasn't been sent to any other county governments yet because of the complexities of the applicants' different projects, but it's working with area officials to move the process as quickly as possible.
Cathey said his city received its first FEMA check earlier this month and the money has already been spent.
"Oh Lord yes," Cathey said with a laugh. "We've used it on cleaning up debris."
Mexico Beach was the hardest hit area in the Panhandle, losing many of its homes and buildings after taking a direct hit from the Category 4 storm.
"Our whole city is demolished," Cathey said.
As such, the city has already submitted its second FEMA request for about $9 million in reimbursement for debris cleanup, Cathey said.
"We expect it expeditiously," he said.
On top of FEMA money, the city received $2.8 million last week from the Florida Department of Transportation for recovery through help from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Cathey said.
"When he came here to visit, he promised he was going to see how he could help," Cathey said.
Other governments in the county are still just waiting for federal aid.
In a Tuesday email, Lenisha Smith, spokeswoman for FEMA, wrote that the agency was still working with numerous applicants on projects related to Hurricane Michael recovery and reimbursement.
"The timeline for other projects being obligated depends on the complexity of the projects, collection of supporting documentation, environmental and historical laws and regulations and other concerns," Smith wrote. "The applicant drives the priorities for document collection, schedules and inspections ... that being said, it's understandable why the process can take time."
Smith noted that like other applicants, Mexico Beach was thorough and aggressive in preparing documentation and answering necessary questions.
FEMA will typically reimburse up to 75 percent of disaster-related costs incurred by local governments, including debris cleanup and infrastructure repair.
Philip Griffitts, chairman of the Bay County Commission, said the county was still waiting for money from FEMA.
"We haven't received anything yet and they don't tell us when we'll get that money," Griffitts said.
The county took out a $50 million loan last year to help pay for cleanup costs. The commission agreed to borrow another $100 million earlier this month to cover more debris removal.
"As soon as we get that FEMA money though, we're going to pay off those loans we've been borrowing," Griffitts said.
Cathey said his city hasn't borrowed money for the disaster and has no plan to do so.
"Our ability to pay any loans back is not very high," Cathey said. "And we can't recover when the city looks like a bomb has gone off ... we've got to continue to push for that money from FEMA."
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