Item 26 - Updated Hazard Mitigation Plan

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Hazard Mitigation Plan | 2022 Plan Maintenance - 127 - the Planning Team to discuss funding and timing of the update planning process. On the fifth year of the planning cycles (five years from the date of FEMA approval), the Planning Team will broaden its scope to include discussions and research on all of the sections within the Plan with particular attention given to goal achievement and public participation. Q&A | ELEMENT C: MITIGATION STRATEGY | C5a. Q: Does the plan explain how the mitigation actions and projects will be prioritized (including cost benefit review)? (Requirement §201.6(c)(3)(iv)); (Requirement §201.6(c)(3)(iii)) A: See Economic Analysis of Mitigation Projects and FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis Guidelines below. Economic Analysis of Mitigation Projects FEMA's approach to identify the costs and benefits associated with hazard mitigation strategies, measures, or projects fall into two general categories: benefit/cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Conducting benefit/cost analysis for a mitigation activity can assist communities in determining whether a project is worth undertaking now, in order to avoid disaster -related damages later. Cost-effectiveness analysis evaluates how best to spend a given amount of money to achieve a specific goal. Determining the economic feasibility of mitigating hazards can provide decision- makers with an understanding of the potential benefits and costs of an activity, as well as a basis upon which to compare alternative projects. Given federal funding, the Planning Team will use a FEMA-approved benefit/cost analysis approach to identify and prioritize mitigation action items. For other projects and funding sources, the Planning Team will use other approaches to understand the costs and benefits of each action item and develop a prioritized list. The “benefit”, “cost”, and overall “priority” of each mitigation action item was included in the Mitigation Actions Matrix located in Part III: Mitigation Strategies. A more technical assessment will be required in the event grant funding is pursued through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis Guidelines are discussed below. FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis Guidelines The Stafford Act authorizes the President to establish a program to provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments to assist in the implementation of hazard mitigation measures that are cost effective and designed to substantially reduce injuries, loss of life, hardship, or the risk of future damage and destruction of property. To evaluate proposed hazard mitigation projects prior to funding FEMA requires a Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) to validate cost effectiveness. BCA is the method by which the future benefits of a mitigation project are estimated and compared to its cost. The end result is a benefit-cost ratio (BCR), which is derived from a project’s total net benefits divided by its total project cost. The BCR is a numerical expression of the cost effectiveness of a project. A project is considered to be cost effective when the BCR is 1.0 or greater, indicating the benefits of a prospective hazard mitigation project are sufficient to justify the costs.