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Property assessor recommends full-time floodplain administrator as county grapples with recovery
Summary
Property assessor Maci Reed told commissioners her office has completed substantial-damage reviews and recommends creating a full-time floodplain administrator position; she offered an internal candidate and asked for a workshop to decide where the function should sit.
Maci Reed, the county property assessor who has also been serving as floodplain coordinator, told the Cocke County Board of Commissioners that her office has completed field reviews of storm damage and recommended creating a full-time floodplain administrator position to maintain compliance and speed recovery.
Reed said her team of field workers completed 216 substantial-damage reviews and entered those records into FEMA’s tracking tool before the meeting. She reported 52 structures were completely destroyed and 39 were substantially damaged but still standing. Reed said her staff has also issued development permits for repairs, rebuilds and new construction where appropriate.
Reed apologized to commissioners for any earlier confusion in public remarks and outlined operational reasons to make the floodplain coordinator a standalone, full-time position rather than continuing to split duties inside the assessor’s office. She said the workload and program duties — tracking handoffs with FEMA and TEMA, issuing elevation-certificate guidance and maintaining a substantive public-record trail — are interfering with routine assessor duties including new-construction pickup that drives tax base revenue.
Reed recommended appointing Adam Gann (spelled in the packet as a recommended candidate) to the role and noted options for funding including reallocating existing recovery administrative funds. She also provided a revenue context to commissioners: the assessor’s office added $840,254.77 in assessed value in 2024 from new construction and other updates, a figure she said supports a sustainable approach to staffing.
Commissioners discussed oversight and placement of the position. Several said they prefer the position remain administratively aligned with the property assessor’s office but reported space and capacity constraints and asked staff to consider alternative reporting arrangements while keeping statutory duties clear. Commissioners agreed to schedule a workshop within two weeks to review qualifications, legal authority, funding sources and operational detail and to finalize the role after that meeting.
Reed reiterated that the assessor’s office has been maintaining NFIP compliance while completing fieldwork and that increased-cost-of-compliance (ICC) benefits available under some flood-insurance policies can help homeowners cover costs for elevation or floodproofing.
Reed submitted a temporary rescission of her prior resignation so she can complete the transition work and help staff through the proposed reorganization. The board directed staff to set the workshop date promptly and asked Reed and the mayor’s office to provide candidate qualifications and an outline of funding options before that meeting.
