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State official seeks $3 million to extend Municipal Technical Assistance Program after $3 million initial tranche
Summary
Doug Farnham, chief recovery officer, told the committee the MTAP helped small communities apply for state and federal programs; he asked for an additional $3 million to fund outstanding projects and to ensure communities can compete for hazard‑mitigation and federal infrastructure funds.
The House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development heard Feb. 25 from Doug Farnham, chief recovery officer for the state, who urged the committee to support an additional $3,000,000 for the Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) as proposed in the governor's budget. The additional tranche would match the initial $3,000,000 appropriation and fund technical support to help smaller, lower‑capacity communities prepare competitive grant applications for state and federal programs.
Farnham said MTAP was created quickly through the biennial appropriations act to help communities that lack in‑house planning or grant‑writing capacity connect with regional planning commissions (RPCs) and trusted partners. "This 3,000,000 is an additional tranche that matches the original appropriation of the Municipal Technical Assistance Program," Farnham said, describing how the program routes funds through RPCs, Stone Environmental, Vermont Housing Conservation Board's Rural Economic Development Initiative, and the Vermont Council on Rural Development to deliver planning, project scoping and community engagement assistance.
Farnham told the committee that, as of last spring, there was about $1,400,000 of identified but unfunded MTAP‑eligible projects collected by RPCs. He said roughly 60 percent of MTAP allocations went through RPCs, with the remaining 40 percent contracted to partner organizations to reach smaller communities. Farnham cited examples of outcomes, including helping the town of Athens produce its first town plan, and said the July 2023 floods increased demand for resiliency and hazard‑mitigation planning.
Farnham noted the state has about $67,000,000 in FEMA awards for mitigation projects, with the state providing a 25 percent match, creating nearly $100,000,000 in potential project value; he said having more MTAP‑ready projects will let smaller communities compete for that funding. The program originally prioritized towns using a Vermont Community Index score; the program first opened to communities scoring above 75, and later expanded eligibility to include communities down to 50 on the index to increase participation.
Committee members asked about reporting and documentation. Farnham said the required public reports are posted but some internal spreadsheets and the January 2024 compilation are internal; he offered to share the spreadsheet report referenced in his remarks. The committee recessed for the floor and asked Farnham to send the materials to committee members for review.
