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Haywood County hires consultant to speed FEMA mitigation applications
Summary
Commissioners authorized negotiating a contract with Insight Consulting to prepare bundled Hazard Mitigation Grant Program applications after Tropical Storm Fred. Staff said Insight ranked highest, could add 9–11 contractors and largely be reimbursed by federal funds; the board approved the move unanimously.
Haywood County commissioners voted unanimously Aug. 18 to authorize negotiations with Insight Consulting LLC to prepare and submit bundled Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project applications to FEMA on the county's behalf.
Recovery and resilience officer Cody Grama said the county solicited proposals, scored three firms, and that Insight "ranked the highest." He told commissioners the contractor would add capacity—"9 to 11 contractors to the table"—to assemble homeowner and project applications and compress the back‑and‑forth Requests for Information that slow approvals. "It would shave off 4 months, roughly, give or take," Grama said, later adding the approach could cut as much as "6 to 8 months off the applications, before approval," depending on circumstances.
Grama told the board the county has received a large volume of applications tied to Tropical Storm Fred—"somewhere in the order of thousand plus across the Western North Carolina"—and that Insight's chief executive is a former state hazard mitigation official. County staff said the majority of the contractor cost would be reimbursed through HMGP mechanisms: "probably close to 90 or 95 percent of the cost...is gonna be reimbursed by federal...dollars," Grama said, and any non‑reimbursable expense would require preauthorization.
Commissioners asked about time savings and program uptake. Grama said the county had about 115 mitigation applications in total (over 80 for acquisition, 15 for landslide work, and several for elevation) and emphasized that participation remains optional for property owners. County Manager (unnamed in the transcript) noted that even shaving a year off past timelines could help: he cited a closing he signed for a Hidden Valley Circle property that occurred 48 months after an event.
The board approved a motion to negotiate and execute any necessary documents with the county manager after final terms are reached. The action was taken by unanimous voice vote.
The decision directs staff to finalize contract terms with Insight and to ensure any non‑reimbursable work receives prior authorization; it does not itself obligate county funds beyond permitted pre‑award or advanced assistance mechanisms.
