County says state’s $10M FEMA mitigation award will be passed through to eligible homeowners

County Administrator Mr. Moore briefed the committee that the state has been awarded $10,000,000 by FEMA to help homeowners in eligible repetitive‑loss areas and that Beaufort County will serve as the local pass‑through for applications. He said homeowners who received direct notice from FEMA will be able to apply and that a state‑hired consultant will help applicants navigate the lengthy application process.

Mr. Moore said the state will notify homeowners directly and that only those who received the FEMA letter are eligible to apply through the county; the committee was told the state's application deadline for homeowners is Oct. 9. Staff cautioned the committee that the county may need to temporarily front some costs that would be reimbursed by the FEMA grant, and that one mitigation/reconstruction category is capped (a figure cited in the briefing was $220,000). "We received, notice that there's a FEMA mitigation grant that as the state has been awarded for $10,000,000 to allocate to residents who will be notified by FEMA," Mr. Moore told the committee.

The committee discussed outreach challenges because FEMA identified the eligible addresses and has not provided the county with a detailed list; staff said the county can post information and coordinate with municipal contacts but cannot add residents to the FEMA list. Committee members asked whether unclaimed funds revert to the federal government; staff said they believed unused funds would be reclaimed by the state and then the federal government.