Warren County taxing entities have recently approved participation in the new Warren County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan, updated every five years, allows local governments and school districts to apply for federal and state funding in the wake of disasters.

The county’s six incorporated municipalities have now approved the draft plan, while three of four school districts have also given the document their blessing, according to Dawn Mowery, community planner with the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission. Only the Wright City R-II School Board remains to approve the plan before it is finalized, Mowery said, and that is expected to happen at the board’s September meeting.

Mowery has been making the rounds at recent board meetings to explain the purpose of the plan and answer questions.

“You’ve got terrorism, hazardous materials, you know, utility disruptions, all of that is covered in the plan,” Mowery told the Record following the Village of Innsbrook Board of Trustees’ approval of the plan Aug. 20.

“And we set up what are called action goals for all jurisdictions, and those are hazards that need to be addressed and things that we can do to help mitigate those and keep them from affecting the area too much.”

Besides the Village of Innsbrook, other municipalities whose governing bodies have recently approved the plan include Truesdale on Aug. 12, Wright City on Aug. 13, Warrenton on Aug. 18 and Marthasville on Aug. 19.

“A lot of times after a disaster, if you’ve got where the federal government declares a disaster area, then a lot times state or federal funds will become available to help with cleanup and all that kind of stuff, but you usually have to get that designation first,” Marthasville Mayor David Lange said at the Marthasville Board of Aldermen meeting prior to the unanimous vote to approve the plan.

“With us approving this, that makes us become eligible for FEMA grants,” Truesdale Mayor Jerry Cannon said at the city’s Aug. 12 Board of Aldermen meeting, “and without us approving the hazard mitigation plan, we wouldn’t be able to be eligible for FEMA grants.”

In addition to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money, participating in a hazard mitigation plan is also necessary to receive Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) funding in the wake of a natural disaster, Mowery said.

“If a jurisdiction were not to sign the resolution, they would potentially not be eligible for funding, because they’re not part of a hazard mitigation plan. That’s why it’s important to make sure that we get everybody involved and we get the actions correct for everybody,” she said.

Each entity participating in the plan has its own section in the document, and minor changes to wording were made prior to some of the participating boards approving their resolutions in support of the plan.

“You never know what pot of money they’re going to come up with,” Mowery told Village of Innsbrook trustees. “So next year, you know, SEMA may drop a pot of money that can only be used for warning systems, and at that point in time, because you guys have it set as a goal, you could actually apply. If you don’t have a goal for it, you can’t ask for money for it.”