Commissioners table FEMA/IDHS hazard-mitigation grant offer while seeking clarifications

Fulton County officials on March 17 reviewed an offer of federal mitigation-planning funding provided through the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) and FEMA but decided to table acceptance while staff gathers additional information.

The county received written notice that a mitigation-plan update grant award was available to Fulton County for roughly $24,000 with a required local match of about 25 percent (the meeting packet cites a local match figure of about $8,100). County staff and one commissioner said the application for the FEMA/IDHS funding had been prepared by the state two years earlier; documentation in the auditor’s office did not show the standard internal grant-approval steps or county letterhead authorization for the earlier submission.

Auditor staff said they have a written county grants policy and require grants to be routed through the auditor’s office; that policy was not followed for this award, the auditor said. Commissioners asked staff to contact IDHS and other state officials to confirm grant terms, project scope, and any downstream obligations before committing county matching funds or signing grant paperwork.

The commissioners voted to table the item and requested that staff return with clarifying documentation at a subsequent meeting. The board noted the county mitigation plan is due later in 2025 and that updating the plan is necessary, but members wanted to resolve paperwork and budget questions before obligating local funds.

Ending

Commissioners directed staff to seek written clarifications from IDHS and to report back; the motion to table carried on a recorded 3-0 vote.