By Bill Short
The Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen has adopted a resolution to approve the 2021 update to the Shelby County Hazards Mitigation Plan.
Board members took the action during their July 12 regular monthly meeting on a motion offered by Alderman Al Bell and seconded by Alderman Jon Crisp.
The motion was passed by six affirmative votes, with Alderman Don Lowry absent.
The resolution states that Millington recognizes the potential threat to persons and property posed by natural and technological hazards.
It notes that taking actions to mitigate hazards before disasters occur will reduce the potential for personal harm and the destruction of property, while also saving taxpayer dollars.
The resolution states that adoption of a hazard mitigation plan is required in order to receive future grant funding for mitigation projects.
It notes that Millington participated with “other units of local government” in Shelby County in preparing the 2021 update to the plan.
The resolution states that, on behalf of Millington and the county’s other municipalities, the board authorizes the county’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to submit the adopted update to officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for final review and approval.
During discussion shortly before the vote, City Finance Director John Trusty said the plan has to be in place before anyone in the county can accept FEMA funds in the event of disasters.
He noted that it is “periodically” required to be updated, and all the county’s municipalities must “sign off” on the update.
Trusty said various “technical” things were changed in the plan.
“I know one of the updates we have is some change in properties that we no longer own vs. ones we do now own.”
The plan’s Executive Summary states that, during the past two decades, hazard mitigation has gained increased national attention because of the large number of natural disasters that have occurred throughout the United States and the rapid rise in costs associated with those disaster recoveries.
It notes that money spent mitigating potential impacts of a disaster event can result in “substantial savings of life and property.”
The summary states that, because these benefit-cost ratios are “extremely advantageous,” the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 was developed as federal legislation that reinforces the importance of pre-disaster mitigation planning by calling for local governments to develop mitigation plans.
It notes that the purpose of a local hazard mitigation plan is to:
(1) identify the community’s “notable risks and specific vulnerabilities,” and
(2) to create/implement corresponding mitigation projects to address those areas of concern.
The summary states that this methodology helps reduce human, environmental and economical costs from natural and man-made hazards through the creation of “long-term mitigation initiatives.”
