Epomena county brief · Virtuous Cycle LLC · from public records · printed from epomena.vercel.app/county/bay
Bay County
Bay County on one page: where floods have been paid for, how FEMA rates its communities, and what Triumph Gulf Coast has been asked for and awarded there.
Living within its means
Outside money, and what the county owes
- Principal and interest paid$71.3M · FY2024 · source
- Pandemic relief (ARPA) allocated$33.9M · Treasury allocation (May 2021) · one-time · source
- FEMA public assistance to the county government since 2016$320.2M · 2016-2026 (data refreshed 2026-10-24) · federal share obligated · source
- RESTORE Act direct component$30.2M · as of 2026-04-20 · cumulative allocation, one-time · source
From 2027 the commission must show how next year’s budget could be cut by 10%. Against FY2024 spending that is $46.5M, or 12% of everything outside law enforcement, fire and debt service. All eight counties.
42.3% of the cost of the county’s governmental capital assets is already depreciated (FY2024). A rough sign of how old what it owns is, and so of replacement coming due; inferred, not an audited finding.
Revenue by source from EDR tabulations of Department of Financial Services Annual Financial Reports (reported, not audited; retrieved 2026-10-25), governmental funds only, transfers and debt proceeds left out. Debt, assets and one-time money from the county’s audited statements, U.S. Treasury and FEMA, each linked. A high outside share is a fact about the formulas and settlements a county lives on, not a verdict on it. Sources and limits · the series · every finding.
Was on the ballot · 3 November 2026
What the property-tax amendment would take from levies here
The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference estimates that HJR 1-F would cut non-school property-tax revenue in Bay County by $27.1M in FY2027-28, rising to $44.2M a year once fully in place. That is every levy in the county together (the county commission, its cities and its special districts), before any of them responds.
What the amendment changes · Florida Revenue Estimating Conference, ad valorem impact of HJR 1-F, 10 July 2026 (county tables at pages 682–686)
Flood record
Flood-insurance claims and policies
Most claims came from Hurricane Opal (2,980), Hurricane Michael (2,129), Hurricane Dennis (461).
FEMA Community Rating System
How FEMA rates each community's floodplain management
| Community | Class (1 best, 10 none) | Discount in the 1% zone |
|---|---|---|
| Bay County | 5 | 25% |
| City of Callaway | 7 | 15% |
| City of Lynn Haven | 7 | 15% |
| City of Mexico Beach | In the NFIP, not in CRS | — |
| City of Panama City Beach | 5 | 25% |
| City of Panama City | 5 | 25% |
| City of Parker | 10 | — |
| City of Springfield | In the NFIP, not in CRS | — |
Health, modelled
CDC estimates for adults in the county
| Measure | Bay | 95% interval | Middle of the eight counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current lack of health insurance (ages 18–64) | 12.5% | 10.0–15.6% | 12.4% |
| High blood pressure | 37.7% | 34.3–41.3% | 37.5% |
| Current asthma | 10.0% | 8.8–11.2% | 9.9% |
| Coronary heart disease | 7.3% | 6.4–8.2% | 7.3% |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 7.9% | 6.6–9.3% | 7.8% |
| Depression | 20.8% | 18.0–23.8% | 19.2% |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 11.9% | 10.3–13.6% | 12.4% |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 25.3% | 21.1–29.6% | 25.7% |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.7% | 15.6–19.9% | 17.3% |
| Mobility disability | 14.7% | 12.4–17.0% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES, 2025 release (2023 estimates): modelled from national surveys, not counted locally. A difference from the middle figure means little when this county’s interval covers it.
Triumph Gulf Coast
17 awards from 81 proposals
Where the 81 proposals ended up: 17 awarded, 3 under review, 9 applied, not awarded, 8 found not eligible, 16 withdrawn, 28 pre-application only.
| # | Project | Award, as amended | Preliminary scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 312 | InSPIRE Florida State University - Panama City | $98.5M | 3 yes, 2 partly |
| 338 | Project Spinner NWFL Beaches International Airport | $25.0M | 5 yes, 1 partly, 1 no |
| 282 | Nursing and Healthcare Expansion Gulf Coast State College | $24.3M | 3 yes, 1 partly |
| 185 | Panama City Industrial Complex Panama City | $20.0M | 4 yes, 1 partly, 1 no, 1 not known |
| 365 | Project Kilowatt Bay County BOCC | $12.8M | 5 yes, 1 no, 1 not known |
| 246 | ASCENT Cybersecurity and New Technologies Program FSU Panama City | $12.3M | 4 yes |
| 189 | Hurricane Michael Recovery Ad Valorem Request Bay County BOCC | $10.7M | 1 yes, 1 partly, 2 no |
| 49 | Port Panama City East Terminal Development Panama City Port Authority | $10.0M | 2 yes, 1 partly, 2 no |
| 346 | Aviation, HealthCare, and AI Expansion Bay District Schools | $8.1M | 3 yes, 1 not known |
| 265 | FSU Panama City Collegiate Lab School Florida State University - Panama City | $7.7M | 4 yes |
| 258 | Project Lightning Strike Bay Economic Development Alliance | $7.0M | 6 yes, 1 partly |
| 344 | Project Clear Bay County Board of Commissioners | $3.8M | 6 yes, 1 partly |
| 273 | Project Cast Bay Economic Development Alliance | $3.7M | 6 yes, 1 partly |
| 227 | Intermodal Distribution Center Expansion Panama City Port Authority | $3.0M | 4 yes, 1 partly |
| 206 | STEM and Business Entrepreneurship Labs AMIkids Panama City Marine Inst. | $1.7M | 3 yes, 1 partly |
| 143 | Haney HVAC Program Bay District Schools | $848K | 2 yes, 1 partly, 2 no |
| 244 | Thunderbird Tech Program Bay District Schools | $148K | 3 yes, 1 partly |