Bay County prepared for FEMA 'Claw Back' scenario
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The fight over Federal Emergency Management Agency funding continues, even after they already approved the funds. Bay County is one of several local governments experiencing what officials call 'Claw back.'
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Commissioners are appealing FEMA's attempts to take back more than $27 million. After Hurricane Michael, FEMA approved funding to resurface roads heavily damaged during debris removal all over the panhandle.
Bay County received some of that funding and used it on roads. Now FEMA officials are trying to take back that money.
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'We paved all those roadways. And now a decision was made that maybe we weren't eligible for those funds. And so therefore, there's a potential claw back of $27 million. And so what we're doing, we're appealing that. We think we'll be successful in getting that overturned because they did approve the project,' Bay County Commissioner Robert Carroll said.
Washington County and the city of Panama City have similar battles with FEMA.Carroll says they feel confident in the appeal process, that's been going on since January of 2024. But they're prepared for any outcome.
'We're just basically setting aside funds this year, that way, if there is a claw back, we'll have the funds. We don't need FEMA to come back and say, write us a check for $27 million that we don't have. So we're basically creating a savings account to put aside this money dedicated for this if FEMA decided not to continue to give us the funding,' added Carroll.
The account is funded by surtax revenue. If the appeal is successful, the money will go to other county projects. Carroll says they don't know how much longer the appeal process will take.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The Hill
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