This progress report was prepared, and is submitted, for continued credit under the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS). The CRS is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. It is designed to provide an annual update and report on accomplishments toward continual implementation of the City’s floodplain management activities.
The City’s floodplain management plan is the Repetitive Loss Plan (RLP). The Plan was originally prepared in 1998 and was updated in 2002. The report shows how the City continues to operate under the adopted objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, relative to floodplain management. The City has had 40 repetitive loss properties since the 1990s, 12 of which have been mitigated. A repetitive loss property is a property that has received two or more insured flood losses of $1,000 or more over a 10-year period.
The goals of the CRS are to reduce flood damages to insurable property, strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP, and encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management. The CRS has been developed to provide incentives in the form of premium discounts for communities to go beyond the minimum floodplain management requirements. The discounts run in five percent increments, from five percent to 45 percent. Class ratings range from 10 to 1. The higher the flood protection activity, the lower the rating. A Class 1 community would receive a 45 percent premium discount, while a Class 9 community would receive a five percent discount. A Class 10 does not participate in the CRS and receives no discount.
The City has consistently managed the floodplain “above and beyond” the minimum standards of the NFIP. With the 2011 CRS Verification visit the City’s efforts were recognized by FEMA with an improved rating from Class 7 to Class 6. The current rating provides for automatic discounts of up to 20 percent for flood insurance policy holders. This discount amounts to a total savings of over $200,000 for the community.