Council adopts Pinellas County five‑year mitigation plan update to preserve FEMA grant eligibility

The City Council unanimously adopted the 2025 update to the Pinellas County Multi‑Jurisdictional Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS), a five‑year hazard‑mitigation plan required to maintain eligibility for FEMA mitigation grants.

Hannah Rebholz, the city’s floodplain manager, explained that the LMS compiles countywide hazard risk assessments, mitigation strategies, funding sources and a public‑information program to coordinate mitigation across municipalities. “The LMS provides actions and updates to programs that are happening that we can use to reduce our hazards and the consequences from those hazards,” Rebholz said, and she noted the update focuses on coastal and riverine flooding and on improvements to public awareness and education.

Rebholz described the LMS as necessary to retain access to FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding and to maintain Community Rating System points that affect flood insurance discounts. She told the council the city is a major contributor to the countywide public‑information program and that adopting the five‑year update preserves opportunities for state and federal funding for residential elevations and other mitigation work.

Council member Brandy Gabbard thanked staff and stressed the value of countywide collaboration following last year’s storms; Rebholz said the countywide approach reduces duplication and provides broader outreach and technical resources to the city.

Why it matters: Adoption keeps the city eligible for federal mitigation funding and coordinates city and county efforts to reduce flood risk and improve resilience.

Speakers quoted in this article: Hannah Rebholz (floodplain manager) and Council member Brandy Gabbard.