Hanagriff: 'They heard us' on flood insurance rates

St. Mary Parish officials have lodged their objections to the new formula for setting flood insurance rates, a formula that will mean premium increases of up to $240 a year.

At Wednesday’s Parish Council meeting, the council also heard that two parks will soon have new playground equipment, and Kemper Williams will get some new bleachers. An attempt to lower the speed limit on a portion of La. 182 in Amelia is a no-go.

Parish President David Hanagriff noted Wednesday that he and some council members attended last week’s National Association of Counties legislative conference in Washington. The association’s Coastal Caucus discussed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new Risk Rating 2.0 formula for the National Flood Insurance Program.

“They heard us loud and clear,” Hanagriff said. “I truly believe that they’re going to have to do something because the rates we’re going through now, and once 2.0 comes through, are going to be unbearable, not only for St. Mary Parish but for all of Louisiana and all the coastal states.”

The flood insurance program, which guarantees coverage for property owners in flood-prone areas, is struggling to reach firm economic ground. A General Accounting Office study two years ago found that the program was $20.5 billion in debt, even though Congress wiped out $17 billion in debt in 2017.

One key issue is repeated claims made by property owners in areas with especially high flood risks. FEMA’s proposal for reform is Risk Rating 2.0, which bases premiums on the risk for individual properties rather than the risk across the ZIP Codes where they’re located.

FEMA says Risk Rating 2.0 will be a good deal for some. The agency estimates that 20% of Louisiana’s 496,000 NFIP policy-holders have or will see immediate premium decreases. Another 70% will see premium increases of no more $120 a year.

Seven percent will see hikes of up to $240 per year, while the most flood-vulnerable 3% will pay at least $240 more.

That 3% amounts to more than 17,000 NFIP policy-holders, including some who have seen premiums go from hundreds each year to thousands. Louisiana’s congressional delegation has been advocating a slowdown of Risk Rating’s 2.0 rollout or doing away with it altogether.

“We are talking about the financial crisis unfolding at kitchen tables across my state,” U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in the Senate chamber last week. “Families cannot afford the premium hikes that
NFIP is planning with Risk Rating 2.0. For some, premiums have become unaffordable and could collapse the value of their home.”

NFIP premium increases are capped at 18% per year. But Cassidy argued that the higher premiums will lead some to drop flood insurance.

The playground equipment authorized by the council last fall is due to be delivered Friday, said Chief Administrative Office Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange. The equipment is headed for the Sorrel and Elizabeth Davis parks.

New bleachers for the tennis courts at Kemper Williams Park near Patterson are also scheduled for delivery Friday, LaGrange said.

The lower 55 mph speed limit had been proposed by the council for La. 182 in Amelia, along with a mid-block crosswalk.

But Department of Transportation and Development engineer Nicholas Fruge wrote to the council to say that the DOTD’s report doesn’t recommend lowering the speed limit. And department policy forbids mid-block crosswalks where the speed limit is over 40 mph.

The council also made these appointments Wednesday:

—Don Hicks to the Consolidated Gravity District No. 2A board, which serves Morgan City and Amelia.

—Carla Gagliano to the Recreation District No. 1 board, which serves Amelia.

—Joel Authement to remain on the West St. Mary Parish Harbor, Port and Terminal board.