TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of North Port, Florida, Adopting the 2026 Sarasota County Unified Local Mitigation Strategy; Providing for Incorporation of Recitals; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date.
Recommended Action
Option 1: Adopt Resolution 2026-R-02 as presented.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Adopt Resolution 2026-R-02 as presented.
• Pros:
o Enables the City to remain a voting member and active participant in the Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS). This provides the City with the power to vote on LMS matters and elevates the priority of one mitigation project per funding source available.
o Enables the City to submit for certain State and Federal mitigation grant funding opportunities.
o Participation in the LMS allows the City to better identify hazard vulnerabilities and increase mitigation and resilience efforts.
o Adoption is required per 44 CFR Part 206 and Florida Administrative Code 27P-22 if the City wishes to be eligible for certain State and Federal mitigation grant funding opportunities.
• Cons:
o There are no foreseeable cons approving this Resolution.
Option 2: Deny Resolution 2026-R-02.
• Pros:
o There are no foreseeable pros to denying this Resolution.
• Cons:
o The City would no longer be a voting member or a participant of the LMS.
o Failure to adopt the LMS results in a violation of 44 CFR Part 206 and Florida Administrative Code 27P-22 if the City wished to be eligible for certain State and Federal mitigation grant opportunities.
o The City would be unable to receive LMS endorsement for mitigation grant funding opportunities.
o Increases the vulnerability of the City to natural hazards and decreases the City’s overall resilience.
o Potentially hurts the relationship between the City and surrounding jurisdictions.
Background Information
The Unified Sarasota County Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) is a Countywide, multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation planning framework. Developed in accordance with 44 CFR Part 201 and Florida Administrative Code 27P-22, the federal regulation establishes the requirements for state and local hazard mitigation planning in order to receive certain grants. The LMS serves as the official pre-disaster mitigation plan for Sarasota County and its participating jurisdictions who formally adopt the strategy. This includes the City of North Port.
The purpose of the LMS is to identify the community’s most significant natural and human-caused hazards, assess local vulnerabilities, and develop long-term, sustainable mitigation strategies that reduce future risk to life, property, infrastructure, and critical services. The LMS includes a prioritized project list, which is required for certain pre-disaster and post-disaster mitigation and resiliency funding from the Florida Emergency Management Agency and the State.
The LMS Plan update and adoption is required every five years and reflects revised hazard data, updates to vulnerability assessments, and newly submitted or revised mitigation initiatives from all participating jurisdictions. Commission previously adopted the Local Mitigation Strategy in 2016 by Resolution 2016-R-02 and 2021 by Resolution 2021-R-05.
The following provides a chronological order of events regarding the approval of the LMS Plan:
Ø February 9, 2016: The City Commission approved Resolution 2016-R-02, adopting the 2016 Sarasota County Local Mitigation Strategy which was valid through 2021.
Ø March 2, 2021: The City Commission approved Resolution 2021-R-05, adopting the 2021 Sarasota County Local Mitigation Strategy which was valid through 2026.
Ø January 27, 2026: The Florida Division of Emergency Management provided conditional approval of the 2026 LMS Plan.
Ø February 10, 2026: Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners approved the adoption of the updated 2026 LMS Plan.
Ø February 23, 2026: The LMS Plan is required to be approved by the Florida Division of Emergency Management, approved by at least one jurisdiction in the County, and due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Resolution No. 2026-R-02 was reviewed by the City Attorney and is legally correct as to form.
Resolution No. 2026-R-02 was provided to the City Clerk’s Office on February 17, 2026, for signature, subject to City Commission approval.
Strategic Plan Pillar
Disaster Response and Recovery Management
Financial Impact
Without adoption of the Local Mitigation Strategy, the City would be ineligible for certain state and federal mitigation grants and could be excluded from consideration for some state-administered grant programs, resulting in the loss of millions of grant dollars.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2026-R-02
2. Local Mitigation Strategy
Prepared by: Mike Nevarez, Deputy Emergency Manager
Department Director: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager