This week, Monroe County staff and their contractors began surveying neighborhoods where properties have experienced repetitive flood damage. This “Repetitive Loss Area Analysis” is part of an ongoing effort to obtain greater discounts for most of the 15,000 flood insurance policy holders in unincorporated Monroe County through the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS).

The CRS is a voluntary incentive program that rewards communities that take actions – which exceed the minimum standards required by the National Flood Insurance Program – to protect people and property from flooding.

Monroe County’s efforts already have earned enough credits for a 25 percent discount for most of the residential and business flood insurance policyholders. These discounts are expected to begin Oct. 1, 2017, subject to the approval of FEMA, which runs the federal program.

With the County’s new public outreach efforts, the discounts are expected to increase to 30 percent, beginning Oct. 1, 2018. These discounts will save policyholders about $5.4 million a year – an average of $360 per policy.

To earn the 30 percent discount, the County’s latest efforts include exploring ways to reduce flood losses in the areas where multiple flood insurance claims have been made for repair of buildings and/or repair/replacement of flood-damaged building contents.

Monroe County staff and their contractors are conducting visual field surveys and collecting information about structures in designated areas to determine the best alternatives for protecting buildings from future flooding. They are taking photographs from the street of each building and recording information such as foundation type and the estimated elevation above the street.

The staff are not Code Compliance Officers and are not visually surveying properties to identify code violations. The staff have County-issued identification and are prepared to speak with you about flooding concerns associated with your property, as well as the nature of the work they are performing.

Residents and business owners in the repetitive loss areas are encouraged to provide additional data – including historical information about floods that have impacted their property. This will enhance the effectiveness of the analysis.

To be part of the solution, residents and business owners can complete an online questionnaire at http://www.monroecounty-fl. gov/floodform, obtain a hard copy of the online form or call Monroe County’s Floodplain Program Senior Administrator Adam T. Ferguson at 305-453-8753.

The analysis will result in a plan that includes flood reduction techniques to address repetitive loss areas. This plan will go before the Board of County Commissioners for review and adoption.