The County has received approval for the Countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Local participation in a Hazard Mitigation Plan is required by the Federal government to be eligible for post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant funding. Additionally, it is required for other mitigation grants.

The purpose of the Chatham County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan is to identify, assess, and mitigate hazard risk to better protect the people and property within Chatham County from the effects of natural and human-caused hazards. This plan documents progress on existing hazard mitigation planning efforts, updates the previous plan to reflect current conditions in the planning area including relevant hazards and vulnerabilities, increases public education and awareness about the plan and planning process, maintains grant eligibility for participating jurisdictions, maintains compliance with state and federal requirements for local hazard mitigation plans, and identifies and outlines strategies the County and participating jurisdictions will use to decrease vulnerability and increase resiliency.

The Countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/gg3rj0xqj0m44e428luoc/AP0mJoSZDc8Z_CCCJsaUfCo?rlkey=pusdtxgedvjscrxdbu5t7v43w&st=tnvuwnxh&dl=0 

The impact of the action demonstrates the city's commitment to developing a resilient community by identifying not only our hazards but projects to lessen or eliminate those hazards. The plan illustrates the city's progress to reducing the risks in our community. There is no cost related to adopting the plan. However, there is typically a 25% match requirement for most mitigation grants.

This item assists in accomplishing the city’s goal of Public Safety and adds value to the residents feeling safe in their neighborhoods by allowing the city to identify risks, develop projects to address those risks and position itself for funding as it becomes available. Most inportantly, city departments have been collaborating on project development and securing grant funding. These investments will allow the city to strengthen service delivery prior to, during, and after a disaster. The unintended consequences are that the city is not guaranteed to receive FEMA mitigation funding after a disaster. One potential alternative the Council could consider is to elect not to adopt the resolution. Another alternative would be for the city to develop its own Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Approval