NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. – The New Port Richey City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday that creates a Flood Risk and Preparedness Public Information Committee.

It’s a step that could lead to discounts for residents who have policies under FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program.

“I’m very excited that this is moving forward,” said New Port Richey City Council Member Bertell Butler. “It’s another step in lowering our insurance rates, and that’s always a good thing.”

The committee will be made up of seven members, including someone from the city’s floodplain management office and another with the public information office. The other members could be floodplain residents, insurance agents, developers and contractors, and other stakeholders.

They’ll advise the council on the best ways to get information to the public about flood risk and resiliency and emergency preparedness. The goal of creating the committee is to improve the city’s standing in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System, or CRS. The CRS ranks participating communities into one of ten classes based on steps they take to reduce flood risk.

The lower the class, the higher discount residents could get on flood policies, up to 45% off. Right now, New Port Richey is a class 7, which offers a 15% discount.

“We would like to increase the amount of discount our property owners are entitled to,” said New Port Richey City Manager Debbie Manns. “We are working hard through a myriad of efforts to receive a better classification rating.”

This comes as Floridians are seeing insurance prices increase across the board. Heidi Beisner said she and her family moved into their home along the Cotee River in 2017 because they wanted to be close to the water.

“We love to see the dolphins playing in the water, the manatee. But we have to look at cost, as well,” Beisner said.

There’s the kind of cost her family experienced in August when Hurricane Idalia caused the Cotee to flood, sending water into their yard and the first floor of their home.

“The water got 18 inches high inside the first floor,” Beisner said.

Then, there’s flood insurance. Beisner said her premium was $542 per year when she first moved in. By 2021, it went up to nearly $3,000.

Jeff Starkey, owner of Great Florida Insurance, said Beisner isn’t alone in dealing with steadily rising premiums. 

“It’s very disheartening,” said Starkey, who’s also a former city council member. “We talk to people on a regular basis that are almost getting forced out of their homes, that have lived in these homes for decades and are retired, on a fixed income, and didn’t calculate any of these premiums.”

Starkey said his agency has seen private insurers leave the market, causing most clients to turn to NFIP. While he said he thinks the new committee is a good step toward offering homeowners relief, Starkey noted he came across something odd while preparing for an interview with Spectrum News. He said when he reviewed declaration pages for clients who should be receiving the 15% discount, few of them were. Manns said Starkey brought this to her attention, and the city has reached out to NFIP.

“It’s important enough that the city is going to remain committed to finding a response to that question, because as you might expect, we’re very interested in making sure that our residents and business owners receive the discount that we work hard to achieve,” said Manns. 

Beisner is currently not getting any CRS discount, but she said it would be a help. Now, she’s waiting to learn what her premium for the coming year will be.

“We’re about 45 days out from our renewal, and because we have to deal directly with the National Flood Insurance Program, we don’t know what the premium is, and they won’t tell us until they send it to us in the mail,” Beisner said.

Manns said New Port Richey is in the middle of a review process with FEMA, which could take several months. She said it would be several months after that before the city would hear about any change in its rating. 

Anyone interested in joining the new committee can visit the city’s website here.