Congratulations are in order! City of Nassau Bay Building Official Mark Stelly – with valued assistance from his staff as well as the Public Works Department – recently took the steps necessary to maintain the City’s Class 7 rating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS).
The Community Rating System is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management practices that exceed the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
“To maintain our Class 7 rating, the City conducts outreach efforts to encourage our citizens to purchase and maintain their flood insurance, furnishes inquirers with basic flood zone information from the community’s latest Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), and offers one-on-one advice regarding property protection,” Stelly said. “We also provide technical advice regarding flood insurance to both our residents and real estate agents working on behalf of potential buyers.
“Our Public Works Department also contributes by keeping our storm drains and roadways clear of debris, actions that contribute to reducing our city’s risk of flooding.”
In CRS communities, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community’s efforts that address the three goals of the program: 1) Reduce and avoid flood damage to insurable property; 2) Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the National Flood Insurance Program; and 3) Foster comprehensive floodplain management.
The floodplain management activities implemented by Nassau Bay qualifies the City for a 15 percent discount on flood insurance premiums for NFIP policies issued or renewed in Special Flood Hazard Areas. This savings is a tangible result of the flood mitigation activities Nassau Bay implements to protect lives and reduce property damage.
“By maintaining our Class 7 rating, the City of Nassau Bay is performing as well as or better than our neighbors in terms of floodplain management,” Stelly said. “I’m proud of our team for maintaining this designation, which we’ll now have in place until the next Community Activity Visit (CAV) conducted by FEMA.”