Commission adopts flood damage prevention resolution but orders staff to fill blanks before final implementation

DeKalb County commissioners voted to adopt a flood damage prevention resolution to accept FEMA flood maps but also instructed staff to complete missing items and return a corrected document at the next meeting.

Commission discussion focused on several incomplete fields in the draft resolution. One commissioner raised concerns that the document included blank spaces for an inventory of historic places, itemized cost estimates for materials and labor tied to appeals, a fee amount for appeals, a number of days for hearings, and a definition or designation for the regional board of zoning appeals. The speaker said the document “is not ready for this group to approve” and identified multiple places that require specific entries before the county could consider the resolution final.

The chair noted the county had been operating under the assumption the resolution had been passed previously and that Emergency Management Director Charles Parker had been administering parts of the program. Commissioners debated a procedural motion to table the resolution; the motion to table failed for lack of majority. The commission then approved the resolution by roll call, and a subsequent motion (moved by Tom Chandler, seconded by Myron Rodey) directed staff to “fill the holes” in the document and return the corrected version for a vote at the next commission meeting.

Commissioners emphasized that the resolution is important for county eligibility for FEMA and certain federal loans or grants, but several members said the administrative details — fees, appeal procedures, and the identity/compensation of an appeals board — needed to be specified before routine implementation.

The commission’s direction: finalize wording in the resolution, define the appeals process (including board composition and fee amounts) and return an amended document for formal ratification at the next meeting.