Jones County held a final public hearing on Oct. 7, 2025, to review updates to its pre-disaster mitigation plan and describe next steps for state and federal review.

The plan update, presented by Greg (county staff member), consolidates natural and technological hazards into a single hazards chapter, adds earthquakes, dam failure coordination with the Macon Water Authority, cyberattack strategies and pandemic planning, and identifies priority actions such as incident-command training, generator inventories and evacuation planning. "We are here for the final public hearing, we'll say, on the Jones County pre disaster mitigation plan," Greg said at the start of the presentation.

The county emphasized that completing this plan is required to preserve eligibility for federal disaster assistance. The presentation noted that the plan identifies hazards, assesses vulnerabilities and lists projects intended to reduce future disaster impacts. Greg said the county has met monthly with a seven-member stakeholder planning committee since March and will send the draft plan to committee members and neighboring jurisdictions for review before submitting it to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and then to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for formal approval.

Why it matters: The county-level plan determines whether Jones County remains eligible for federal mitigation funding and helps prioritize projects that could reduce loss of life and property in future events. The presentation said FEMA has been slower in reviews recently and that the county may need to request a brief extension if FEMA's review delays final adoption; Greg said such an extension would not penalize the county.

Key changes and hazards

- Organization: Chapters on natural and technological hazards were combined into a single hazards chapter to reflect overlap between causes and effects.
- Earthquakes: Added at the state’s request despite a history of only minor, non-damaging quakes; the plan recommends bracing sensitive equipment and protecting critical lifelines.
- Dam failure: The updated plan specifically calls for coordination with the Macon Water Authority, owner of the county’s largest dam, and includes evacuation planning tied to that risk.
- Cyber threats: The plan adds goals to manage and minimize cyberattacks and to protect data and operations.
- Pandemics: Added following the recent federally declared disaster; the plan lists using the planning process to access supplies and coordinate public health messaging.

Priority action items highlighted in the hearing include inventorying and staging generators for essential facilities, training staff on incident-command procedures and conducting drills, maintaining and updating critical contacts and security equipment, expanding fire protection coverage, working on evacuation plans, and creating digital backups of critical documents.

Public questions and county responses

An audience member questioned how the disaster-declaration damage threshold — cited in the meeting as $19,000,000 statewide — has not changed despite inflation and rising rebuilding costs. The commenter said: "How are we maintaining the same $19,000,000 threshold for 20 years if the price of everything is going up?" Greg replied that decisions about the statewide dollar threshold are made at the GEMA and FEMA level and suggested discussing the issue with state and federal representatives. The commenter also described repeated local flood damage along the county river and said that small, localized events often leave homeowners without federal assistance: "Homeowners just holding the bag," the audience member said.

Administrative details and next steps

Greg said the draft plan (about 500 pages) will be distributed to the steering committee and that the county will post the draft on its website if it is not already available. He explained that the county is responsible for an in‑kind match on grant-funded planning work and requested volunteers present record one hour of attendance for in-kind match documentation at a rate of $33.49 per hour. The county also provided contact information and instructed attendees to contact Shaddie (county staff) to be added to the county email list for updates.

No formal votes or policy adoptions occurred at the hearing. The county expects to submit the draft to GEMA for review and then to FEMA; staff said they hope to return for adoption by January but that FEMA timing could delay that schedule.

The presentation closed by inviting further public comment and by offering the county contact for follow-up questions and access to the draft plan.