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Hardin County approves application to update wildfire plan despite new local-match requirement
Summary
At its March 11 meeting the Hardin County Commissioners Court authorized submission to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's FY2025 Community Wildfire Defense Grant to update the county's community wildfire protection plan, with commissioners agreeing the county will document in-kind labor toward a required local match.
Hardin County Commissioners Court on March 11 voted to authorize submission of an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fiscal Year 2025 Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) for up to $250,000 to update and create a county community wildfire protection plan. The court approved the submission after staff said the federal program now requires a local match because Hardin County no longer qualifies as an "underserved" county under the CWDG rules.
County staff told the court the requested grant application would be submitted by the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission on behalf of Hardin County and would seek up to $250,000 to update the existing plan. Staff said the new federal rules removed a prior waiver category; commissioners were told that, under the revised guidance, the county must provide a cost share. Court discussion referenced a 10% match described earlier in staff remarks and an alternate mention of a 2% figure in later remarks; staff advised the county can document in-kind labor (county staff time and other eligible activity) to reduce the required cash outlay.
Commissioners discussed the likely cash exposure. A county staff estimate repeated in the meeting put a possible maximum cash contribution around $15,000, though staff said the actual amount will depend on the final scope of the consultant contract and how much in-kind labor the county documents. Staff also said the updated wildfire plan would align with the county's hazard mitigation planning and would be available to volunteer fire departments and emergency services districts (ESDs) to support future grant applications.
During discussion, commissioners asked whether the new federal administration might reassess the match requirement in the future; staff said rule changes are possible and described a broader shift toward expecting local entities to document damage and local contributions in federal disaster programs. Court members emphasized they wanted the application back before the court if circumstances changed.
Motion to authorize submission of the application was made by Commissioner Kirkendall and seconded by Commissioner Cook. The motion carried.
The court directed staff to document available in-kind match (staff time, equipment and documented materials) and to coordinate plan development with local fire agencies and ESDs so the plan can support future grant applications.
