Mo-Kan poses flood insurance relief

Dec. 21--Holders of flood insurance policies in St. Joseph and Buchanan County could eventually see their rates fall under a plan now under review by the Mo-Kan Regional Council.

The Community Rating System (CRS) is part of the National Flood Insurance Program and provides a way for eligible communities and property owners to reduce their flood insurance premiums. Tom Bliss, Mo-Kan's executive director, said Platte County has been successful with the money-saving program.

Tanner Stark, a community development planner for the council, said meetings have been held with Buchanan County on the proposal. The system rewards communities for taking steps to lower their ISO (Insurance Service Office) ratings, which formalizes insurance premiums for governments based on their response to floods.

A community earns a rating along a scale of one to 10. A lower ISO rating translates into decreased insurance premiums. A rating of nine, for example, would equate to a 5 percent drop in flood insurance premiums. Each percentage decline results in a 5 percent reduction in insurance payments. The standards are applicable to both commercial and residential properties.

Stark said Buchanan County and St. Joseph already embrace measures that lower their ISO ratings -- through measures such as placing brochures in libraries, publicly displaying posters and creating online maps. He already has spoken with both governments about partnering in the project.

"The money stays in the community," he said. "It keeps the government agencies involved with each other ... We've explored this with Platte County."

A coordinator with the Community Rating System is familiar with flood plain boundaries and would be required to initiate a visit with local representatives.

"At some point, we'll have to coordinate with the jurisdictions," Bliss said. The city and county applications must be processed separately, he added.

Training would be required to coordinate the local CRS program. There's potential for starting the system as soon as next fall.

The council also is coordinating a study on outdoor warning sirens that alert residents during severe weather and other emergencies, Stark said. The issue was listed as a priority by hazard mitigation plans in Buchanan, Andrew, Clinton and DeKalb counties.

The first phase of the effort involves creating an inventory and mapping of all such sirens in the four counties.

The study will identify communities without the warning systems, along with those already possessing civil defense sirens.

A second phase would enact plans for deploying the sirens where needed, including cost estimates and financing resources.

Mo-Kan said many smaller communities in the counties do not have outdoor sirens and may instead be relying on firetrucks to provide the alerts.

The research also found that communities conduct siren and civil defense system tests at different times during the day, week or month. Officials said the result is confusion and a delegitimization of the sirens.

The smaller communities can't afford to purchase the new gear and must depend on a volunteer network to operate the sirens.

Mo-Kan hopes both phases can be completed in time for the next severe weather season.

Both projects are funded by the Missouri Department of Economic Community Development Block Grant program.

Bliss said interns with Northwest Missouri State University's emergency disaster management program have assisted in the planning.

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