HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 12 10 Informational 102 Recent Upgrade of City's Community Class RatingCOMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM 102
December 10, 2007
Meeting
CONSENT
INFORMATIONAL X
PUBLIC HEARING
REGULAR
MGR ~ /DEPT `~!~
Authorization
REQUEST: The Public Works Department -Stormwater Division is advising the City
Commission on a recent upgrade of the City's community class rating under
the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is to advise the City Commission on a recent
upgrade of the City's community class rating under the National Flood Insurance
Program's Community Rating System.
SUMMARY:
• The City's community flood insurance rating has been upgraded from Class 8 to Class 7
by the Insurance Services Office. The Class 7 rating provides a 15% rate reduction on
flood insurance policies issued for properties located within the 100-year floodplain.
• The upgrade to Class 7 is the result of the implementation and/or improvement of the
following floodplain management activities in the City over the past five years:
o Improved regulatory enforcement
o Enhanced GIS-based Stormwater infrastructure maps
o Periodic inspection of private stormwater systems
o Public outreach and providing accessible information (website}
o Increased regional coordination of stormwater activities
o Improved recordkeeping of floodplain management activities
CONSIDERATIONS:
• The U.S. Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) with the
passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The NFIP is a Federal program
enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase flood insurance as a
protection against flood losses in exchange for State and community floodplain
December 10, 2007
Informational Agenda Item 507
Page 2 of 3
management regulations that reduce future flood damages. The City of Winter Springs is
a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between communities and the Federal
Government. If a community adopts and enforces a floodplain management ordinance to
reduce future flood risk to new construction in floodplains, the Federal Government will
make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against
flood losses. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster
assistance to reduce the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their
contents caused by floods.
• The National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is a
voluntary incentive program implemented in 1990 that recognizes and encourages
community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP
requirements. As a result, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the
reduced flood risk resulting from the community actions meeting the three goals of the
CRS: (1) reduce flood losses; (2) facilitate accurate insurance rating; and (3) promote the
awareness of flood insurance.
• For CRS participating communities, including Winter Springs, flood insurance premium
rates are discounted in increments of 5%; i.e., a Class 1 community would receive a 45%
premium discount, while a Class 9 community would receive a 5% discount (a Class 10 is
not participating in the CRS and receives no discount). The CRS classes for local
communities are based on 18 creditable activities, organized under four categories: (i)
Public Information, (ii) Mapping and Regulations, (iii) Flood Damage Reduction, and (iv)
Flood Preparedness.
• By participating in the CRS, everyone in the City benefits, including those who don't live
or own property in a floodplain. Even when there is no flooding, the City's public
information and floodplain management efforts can improve the quality of life, protect
the environment, make people safer, and save everyone money. If there is a flood, the
City's CRS activities can:
o Save lives
o Prevent property damage
o Avoid lost jobs and economic devastation caused by flooding of offices, stores,
and other businesses
o Prevent damage and disruption to roads, schools, public buildings, and other
facilities
The City of Winter Springs has participated in the Community Rating System (CRS)
program since 1992. As a condition of continued participation in the CRS program, the
City implements the credited activities and gets reviewed and recertified annually by the
Insurance Services Office. Until this year, the City has been rated as a Class 8, which
means a flood insurance premium rate reduction of 10%. This rate reduction is available
on all flood insurance policies in the City for properties in the 100-year floodplain.
December 10, 2007
Informational Agenda Item 507
Page 3 of 3
This year, the 5-year review performed by the Insurance Services Office elevated the
City's rating from Class 8 to Class 7, which provides an additional 5% flood insurance
rate reduction. The total flood insurance rate reduction available on all flood insurance
policies in the City is now 15%.
FUNDING: None required
RECOMMENDATION: N/A
ATTACHMENTS: None
COMMISSION ACTION: