In 2023, the California legislature approved Assembly Bill 102—the Budget Act of 2023—which among other things allocated $20 million to Monterey County to help Pajaro recover from the flooding that occurred after the levee breached and caused widespread flooding.
But one year later, just one-quarter of the people impacted by the disaster have received their portion of that funding. And the county has until Dec. 31, 2025 to use the money.
That was part of a Dec. 18 report by Monterey County officials on the ongoing recovery efforts.
Monterey County Supervisor Glen Church told the assembled reporters that the county has been working to “help bring back some normalcy to the community.”
“Not just to repair damage but to improve safety and help people get back to their normal lives,” he said.
Kelsey Scanlon, who oversees the county’s Department of Emergency Management, said that the county had already provided numerous services for the disaster victims—including housing, meals, transportation, restrooms and water—and spent more than $14 million before the AB 102 funds were allocated.
Still, the logistics of distributing the rest of the funds are challenging, she said.
“The last mile of delivery is truly the hardest, and as such requires significant diligence by the county and our contractors,” she said.
Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino said that $464,000 was distributed to 688 households affected by the flood in the first phase of the allocations, and more than $633,000 in the second phase.
Those households are also eligible for financial assistance ranging from $200-$1,000, depending on the size.
Church acknowledged that the delayed payments have caused frustration, but said that Monterey County has not provided a disaster response of this magnitude in its history.
“People in the community of Pajaro have historically felt that they’ve been neglected, but I think we can look at this now and see that this is not really so now,” he said. “What has happened over the last year and a half since these floods is involvement by the county that is unprecedented.”
County officials say that much of the delay comes because many Pajaro residents do not have the proper documentation such as receipts from their recovery efforts.
“Pajaro is a very cash-based system, in terms of how individuals aren’t necessarily banking,” Cancino said. “(If) they buy a truck, they might pay in cash.”
So record keeping, he said, can often be a challenge.
Scanlon said that the process is going at a pace officials anticipated.
“In fact, it’s moving a lot faster when you consider that establishing a government program almost out of thin air from the ground up in 30 days—a 30-day application period—and then immediately cash out the door within 30 days of that—is quite significant, considering the magnitude of what we’re talking about.”
“It is very much our intention that every single dollar of the AB102 funds are spent, and that there is a very direct impact in the community.”
