Knott County Fiscal Court

Knott County Fiscal Court, doing business as County Judges Office, is a Kentucky local government entity headquartered in Hindman that acts as a prime recipient and sub-recipient of federal grants for disaster recovery, watershed protection, and infrastructure restoration. The entity operates almost exclusively in sub-award capacity (95% of 114 recent awards) beneath state-level pass-through grantees, particularly the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Knott County's federal grant work centers on natural-disaster recovery and watershed stabilization in response to recurring flooding in eastern Kentucky. As a direct prime recipient under the Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service, the county has received six cooperative agreements under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program (CFDA 10.923) since February 2022. The largest of these awards was a $23.1 million cooperative agreement obligated September 30, 2025, for EWP Home Buyout Project 5082 implementation of recovery measures and obstruction removal following Spring 2025 flooding, with performance running through October 7, 2029. Prior awards include a $3.52 million Cooperative Agreement obligated July 31, 2026, for streambank stabilization and debris removal, and a March 6, 2024 award for EWP Project 5076 debris removal and streambank stabilization addressing the February 2023 flood event. As a sub-recipient, Knott County receives the vast majority of its federal funding through the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs as pass-through agent for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) awards from FEMA Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards (102 sub-awards accounting for 96% of award count). These sub-awards fund emergency protective measures, roads and bridges reconstruction, buildings and equipment, parks and recreational facilities, acquisition and demolition projects, and operating costs for the Hickory Hill Recovery Center following repeated flood events.

The recompete cliff shows minimal near-term expiration risk — only one award is obligated to complete within the next twenty-four months. Recent activity accelerated sharply from 2023 onward: one award in 2022, eighteen in 2023, sixty-three in 2024, and twenty-three in 2025, reflecting the federal response cascade following Spring 2025 flooding. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $99.7 million. The county's corporate structure includes two named subsidiaries — Knott Co Sheriffs Dept (U.S. Local Government) and County Of Knott (Community Development Corporation).