The Federal Government Just Rewrote the Rules for Emergency Management. Here's What Small Towns Need to Know.

By Adam Fox, Founder | Community Resilience Partners, LLC

May 2026

On May 7, 2026, the President's Council to Assess FEMA released its Final Report, a sweeping blueprint for the biggest overhaul of federal emergency management since Hurricane Katrina. If your community depends on federal preparedness funding, this report directly affects how much you can access and whether you're positioned to compete for it.

The Council's core doctrine says it all: "Disaster response should be locally executed, state or tribally managed, and federally supported."

That's a fundamental shift. Here's what it means for you.

The Good News: EMPG Is Protected

In a report that restructures nearly every major FEMA program, the Emergency Management Performance Grant was explicitly called out to be retained, and a potential one-time funding increase was recommended to help communities build capacity under the new framework. EMPG is the primary grant that funds local preparedness planning. It is not going away.

The Wake-Up Call: Your THIRA/SPR Is Now a Financial Performance Metric

This is the finding most communities will miss — and it may be the most consequential.

Under the new framework, the percentage of federal funding your community receives after a disaster is tied directly to whether you actively maintain a current THIRA/SPR. The report is explicit:

• Communities that conduct annual THIRA and SPR reviews can qualify for up to a 75% federal cost-share after a disaster.

• Communities that don't get the 50% floor.

  
  

That gap compounds with every declared disaster. A stale planning document isn't just a missed grant opportunity anymore — it's a direct reduction in your post-disaster recovery funding.

The Bigger Picture: Prepared Communities Win. Unprepared Communities Pay.

Every major recommendation in this report follows the same logic: states and localities that demonstrate preparedness maturity receive more federal support, faster. Those who can't demonstrate it receive less.

That means current emergency operations plans. HSEEP-compliant exercises. Active EMPG applications. And yes, an updated THIRA/SPR.

Roughly 70% of U.S. municipalities have no dedicated emergency manager. Most don't have a current THIRA/SPR. Under the old FEMA model, those communities could muddle through. Under the new one, they will literally pay for it.

What Your Community Should Do Right Now

1. Find out when your THIRA/SPR was last updated. If it's more than a year old, you're already behind the new standard.

2. Check your EMPG eligibility. Are you leaving federal preparedness dollars on the table right now?

3. Document your preparedness activities. Exercises, plan updates, and mutual aid participation, the new framework rewards communities that can show their work.

How CRP Can Help

Community Resilience Partners was built for exactly this moment. We help small towns and rural counties access federal preparedness funding through fully customized, FEMA-compliant THIRA/SPR packages, with a performance-based pricing model that means no meaningful upfront cost to your community. You pay a small administrative fee at contract signing; the rest comes from the grant we help you win.