The county has reversed course on a decision not to go after FEMA money available to raise, reconstruct or buy out houses that have suffered severe and repetitive flooding.

Monday, the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners voted 6 to 1 to allow Beaufort County Emergency Services to send letters of interest to FEMA if money is available through various mitigation programs.

The reversal came after a presentation by Ryan Cox, a hazard mitigation officer with North Carolina Emergency Management. Since the December meeting, when the board voted 4-3 against pursuing federal money for buyouts of properties that had suffered severe and repetitive flooding during Hurricane Florence, Beaufort County Emergency Services had been fielding calls from local government officials for further information about available funding.

Emergency Services Director Carnie Hedgepeth invited Cox to talk to the board about what money could be available through different programs/projects and answer commissioners’ questions about what the county’s role is in applying for federal Flood Mitigation Assistance Program money.

Cox explained the reason why the federal government is outright buying properties, raising homes or rebuilding homes.

“For every dollar spent in mitigation, we save $6 to the federal government for recovery purposes,” Cox said. “It’s been what has pushed Congress into putting more money into mitigation over the last few years.”

Cox said there were other factors that have prompted the federal government to move in the direction of being proactive with mitigation programs, rather than reactive to major flooding: to keep first responders and residents out of harm’s way; FEMA having to pay out less in claims on flood-insured properties that have been repeatedly flooded; and communities being able to bounce back more quickly after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Florence.

“We’re doing long-term flood reduction,” Cox said.

Commissioner Hood Richardson, who consistently has argued against accepting mitigation funds, said his concern is such programs benefit people who are taking advantage of the system and questioned how properties are chosen for the programs.

“What I’m concerned about is the whole theory of flooding has morphed into an exercise in socialism,” Richardson said.

Responding to commissioners’ questions, Cox explained that while Beaufort County would have to pay up front for costs associated with buyouts, raising or reconstruction of any homes selected, the county is fully reimbursed in about two weeks. In the case of a buyout program — such as the FEMA Fund 407 commissioners voted not to pursue at the December meeting — there is another option to the county being saddled with the title and maintenance of a bought-out property: they can donate it to conservation fund.