Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Emergency official warns FEMA public‑assistance thresholds may rise before hurricane season
Summary
David Green briefed council on potential FEMA changes that could raise thresholds for public assistance reimbursements and explained limits of individual assistance grants and the role of SBA loans.
David Green, introduced to the council as the speaker on FEMA changes, told Colleton County Council on May 6 that FEMA is considering raising the threshold to qualify for public assistance reimbursements and reviewed limits to individual assistance for residents.
Green said FEMA is proposing to increase the qualifying threshold for public assistance — the reimbursement program for local government emergency response costs — by a factor of four. Using current local figures he cited, that would raise Colleton County’s threshold from roughly $182,000 to approximately $728,000; the state threshold he cited would increase from about $9.6 million to about $38 million. Green cautioned those numbers were not yet final and said FEMA plans an advisory committee that may issue formal guidance soon.
Green explained public assistance typically reimburses items such as sheltering, debris removal and overtime; he said overtime — not base salaries — is generally reimbursable. He also described individual assistance (IA) available to residents after a federal declaration. Green said IA awards are limited: this fiscal year the maximum individual assistance award is $42,500, and average IA awards commonly fall in the low thousands. He noted many registrants receive little or no IA and that Small Business Administration (SBA) loans were used during last season’s recovery.
“I wanted to remind everybody in the public that insurance remains the best line of defense against the loss in these storms,” Green said, noting IA is not intended to make homeowners whole.
Council members asked whether any changes are already in effect; Green replied nothing is official yet and that the FEMA advisory committee was expected to meet in the coming weeks. He urged continuing preparedness, reminded the council the county now uses three evacuation zones, and said county signage mostly survived the prior season. No formal county action was recorded at the meeting on FEMA policy changes.
Green closed by taking questions about reimbursement rules for overtime and sheltering and by reiterating the limited nature of individual assistance programs.
