Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Jan. 15 delivered a workshop to the Taylor County Board of County Commissioners explaining how participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP, interacts with state and local floodplain rules and what communities must do to remain eligible.

The presentation, given by Marissa Allen of FEMA’s Office of External Affairs and Tammy Hanson of FEMA Region 4 and described by FEMA staff as a roughly 90-minute briefing, reviewed the program’s “three-legged” approach—flood insurance availability, floodplain management regulations and mapping and mitigation—and outlined roles for federal, state and local officials.

The briefing matters because participation in NFIP affects whether county residents can buy or renew flood insurance and whether certain federal post-disaster assistance is available in mapped high-risk areas, FEMA officials said. The agency also warned about a forthcoming change to its oversight approach: "we are moving into an audit system that we will call an audit... starting in mid 2026," a FEMA presenter stated during the workshop.

FEMA officials walked the commissioners through specific local responsibilities: appointing and supporting a floodplain administrator, enforcing the community’s floodplain ordinance, performing substantial-damage determinations after events and maintaining permanent records tied to development in special flood hazard areas. The presenters said those determinations are made by local officials, not FEMA.

Tammy Hanson, a FEMA Region 4 official, described the program’s enforcement steps if a community is noncompliant. A community can be placed on probation — which FEMA said would trigger a $50 surcharge on each NFIP policyholder while the community works to correct deficiencies — and, if noncompliance continues, it can be suspended from the program. Suspension, FEMA said, would prevent new NFIP policies from being sold and existing policies from being renewed and could affect access to some federal assistance for development in mapped high-risk areas.

The presentation included data FEMA said applied to Taylor County: FEMA staff reported 685 paid NFIP claims in unincorporated Taylor County totaling about $26,500,000 since the county joined the program. FEMA also noted that participation in the Community Rating System, an optional program that awards discounts for higher local standards and activities, can reduce premiums for some policyholders; FEMA records cited during the briefing showed Taylor County participating as CRS class 9.

FEMA staff described training and technical resources available to communities (including FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and state floodplain offices), recommended maintaining long-term permitting and elevation records, and explained that higher local standards or CRS activities can produce both safety and premium benefits for residents.

FEMA officials said they will work with the county and the state to set up further briefings and public forums to answer local questions; at the meeting a FEMA representative said, "I've set the goal to try to have you something within a week," while noting the agency would also schedule more comprehensive public events to address individual recovery needs.

The commissioners did not take a formal vote during the workshop. FEMA and county staff said follow-up meetings and technical sessions would be scheduled to provide additional detail for elected officials and residents.