Lee County warning residents about “concerning” letter from FEMA on flood insurance discount

Author: Annette Montgomery
Published: Updated:

If you live in a Special Flood Hazard Area in Lee County you will be receiving a letter from FEMA with some concerning language, but not before you receive one from Lee County Manager Dave Harner.

He said he wants to get a letter from the county out to 67,000 homeowners before FEMA does.

Harner said the letter from FEMA may raise some concerns for homeowners.

“That letter will detail the potential of Lee County being put on probation. That doesn’t mean we are going on probation. It’s just a process that FEMA has to follow in the letter; it will state a few concerning items, such as potentially losing the five CRS rating, which includes up to a 25% discount.”

He continued, “It puts the county on probation, which means we will not be able to reapply for the CRS rating for another two years. We want to reassure the community that we are working diligently with FEMA. We meet with them regularly. We meet with them weekly. Our staff meets with them daily. We are working on a plan to address all their concerns. We believe we will be able to retain that rating.”

Harner said residents can expect to receive his letter by the end of the week or early next week. FEMA’s will come about a week after that. He said the county is in continuous discussion with FEMA, and it’s all in an effort to make sure residents can keep their 25% flood insurance discount.

“Lee County is always looking to enhance anything that we do, and this is no different. We do a number of compliance measures to ensure that we meet the NFIP. We’re always looking to enhance that,” Harner said. “That’s essentially what we’re doing, but we’re doing it with FEMA to ensure that they agree with how we’re moving forward, to be in compliance and to keep our CRS rating, and I believe all the municipalities are doing the exact same thing.”

You can read the letter from homeowners living in the Special Flood Hazard Area from the county here.

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