Orange County to accept more applications for $1,000 stimulus checks on Monday
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Orange County leaders hope that the third time is a charm when they reopen the application portal for residents to apply for $1,000 stimulus checks on Monday.
The portal will open at 8 a.m. on June 15. The system will only allow 25,000 users to access the website and submit their documentation.
The new Orange CARES program is making $36.5 million worth of one-time $1,000 payments available to eligible Orange County residents.
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A technical team has been working to streamline the process after residents expressed aggravation trying to apply this week. More technical staff will be on hand Monday to assist applicants. They say the system can handle 25,000 people at once.
Frustrated residents logged on Monday at 8 a.m., which was the first day to apply. After just minutes, the site stopped taking applications.
“It’s very frustrating. You’re trying to get some money [and] your government is telling you you got to stay home for three months. How many people can live for three months without any money coming in?” resident Art Schwartz said.
Then on Tuesday, the application portal closed after 90 minutes, just after 50,000 applications were received.
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In order to process applications faster, the $1,000 payments will go directly to the resident instead of the corresponding vendor. In addition, Orange County has also cut down on the number of documents necessary to register for the money.
The goal is to get $1,000 into the hands of 30,000 Orange County households.
Melissa Lymangrover, an Orange County resident signing up for the money, told FOX 35 Orlando that "if the county is going to make a promise, we all need to have that reassurance that they will deliver."
“The third or fourth time I tried to do this all over again, it told me sorry, we cannot take anymore,” Lymangrover recalled. “Please try again tomorrow. And that just caused a lot more frustration.”
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District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe hoped that this time the system would work., stating that "we've just got to step up our side of it, in Orange County."
Applicants are urged to have all their paperwork ready before trying to register.
If you cannot apply on Monday, Orange County says there will be more opportunities later.
To apply, visit ocfl.net/OrangeCARES.
Watch FOX 35 News for the latest updates.