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DPS describes FEMA mitigation funds, buyouts and proposed state match carried forward
Summary
DPS told the committee it has mitigation funding from multiple disasters, is managing dozens of buyout applications, and is carrying forward roughly $7.4 million in state funds to serve as match for FEMA mitigation projects and buyouts.
Department of Public Safety budget staff told the House Appropriations Committee that Vermont has received mitigation funding related to multiple declared disasters and is using state carryforwards to provide the nonfederal match for FEMA buyouts and mitigation projects.
"It's 15% of whatever the total disaster was," a department official explained in describing how mitigation funds are calculated and distributed after disasters. The department said mitigation funding is flexible and can be used statewide, not strictly limited to the footprint of a single disaster.
Committee members asked about a carryforward balance the representative read from committee materials. Rick Halbeck and other staff identified a roughly $7.3–$7.4 million balance in a state fiscal recovery / carryforward fund that is obligated to implement buyouts and mitigation projects. Halbeck said the sum is already programed and used to avoid forcing small municipalities to provide the state match for buyout projects.
The department said it expects mitigation funding from multiple declared disasters (the testimony referenced multiple disasters from 2023 and 2024) and that it is managing hundreds of applications for buyouts and mitigation projects over the past decade. Committee members also asked about ownership and the disposition of properties after buyouts; DPS staff said the state typically manages acquisition and relocation under FEMA program rules but deferred detailed ownership mechanics to program staff and to a future briefing.
Officials told the committee the carryforward state match enables more buyouts to proceed without requiring local municipalities to find the matching share. No formal committee action was taken; staff offered to provide additional detail on the specific funding packages and the historic carryforward balances.
