MAINE MONITOR • May 16, 2025
Just a month after the Trump administration cancelled a popular grant program and millions of dollars for local Maine climate resilience projects along with it, Maine municipal officials are facing yet another potential federal funding setback. This time it’s the Hazard Mitigation and Grant Program that the administration is downsizing, a multi-billion dollar program that states have long used to protect vulnerable homes and infrastructure from floods and other disasters. As a former FEMA official with decades of emergency management experience at the state and county levels, York County emergency management director Arthur Cleaves has seen the federal agency at every angle and is keenly aware of the opportunities to improve its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. What he doesn’t understand, however, is what good will come out of sinking vital FEMA programs that can protect communities like his from the next big storm.