The Courier - April 17, 2008

FLOOD MAP FALLOUT
Middletown Dems talk about flood map controversy

By MELISSA L. GAFFNEY
Staff Writer

    Recently, more than 4,200 Bayshore area residents have been burdened with the financial responsibility of flood insurance. This is quickly becoming a political issue within the township for the upcoming November municipal elections.
    Middletown Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Caliendo said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is going to publish the new flood zone maps no matter what. "Ultimately, residences in Leonardo, Belford and Port Monmouth are greatly affected," he said.
    According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), if a house is designated in a flood zone, the Federal Government mandates that homeowners purchase flood insurance if their residence is mortgaged.
    Middletown Democrat for Township Committee, Patricia A. Walsh said FEMA has put the responsibility' of challenging the new maps on homeowners in the Bayshore.
    "Not only are residents going to have to buy flood insurance in the long run, but in order to challenge the maps they will need to conduct evaluation studies," she said. "Those cost money, too. Now [the insurance companies will be] asking for thousands of dollars from people who just cannot afford it."
    According to the new maps, 1,820 structures in Middletown, not including businesses and commercial buildings, were placed in a "coastal high-risk flood zone."
    Walsh said the retaining walls and berms formerly in place along the shoreline were deemed "insufficient," thus any residences formerly protected are now in the l100d zone.
    While the berms were constructed over 30 years ago in the late 1970s, Caliendo said they met the old standards and did their job.
    Middletown Democrat for Township Committee James Grenafege is Walsh's running mate. He said that, instead of improving what already existed, FEMA knocked the berms down.
    Walsh suggested. FEMA could have built the berms higher in order to protect the communities now, rather than prolong the entire process, if it is so concerned with safety.
    While not ideal, the proposal to update the berms would be "a lot cheaper," according to Caliendo. "It costs between $70 and $80 million to install one berm," he said.

The cost of 'deceptive protection'

    The Middletown Democratic Executive Committee questioned the Federal Government's role in commissioning the nationwide flood map re-evaluation, which cost about $220 million.
    "Why put the burden on homeowners now?" asked Committeeman Patrick Short. "We are taking a lead and arguing for our public." Short said the reactionary mode places the burden on taxpayers. "How dare they put our residents in this situation," he continued.
    Caliendo agreed and noted that insurance premiums will only go up. "Bayshore residents will most likely never need the flood insurance they will spend their lives paying for," he said.
    Caliendo explained that a homeowner who now pays $3,000 in taxes would pay a flood insurance premium of about $1,000. Of that money, FEMA receives about two-thirds while the Federal Government absorbs the remainder.
    "It is going to be just like another tax to them," he said. At this point, while homeowners would be 'grandfathered' under current premiums that could potentially save them hundreds of dollars, that aspect does not change the reality of residents needing to pay at least 33 percent more in "tax-like" dollars, Caliendo said.
    Grenafege said this is FEMA and the government's way of "deceptive protection."
    "The insurance money will pay for natural disasters not even in our area," Grenafege said.

Questionable timing during an economic recession

    FEMA undertook the nationwide project of reevaluating flood maps, due in part to the damages from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, La., Caliendo explained.
    The township's Democratic Executive Committee sees the Bayshore having to pay increased flood insurance as a way for FEMA and the government to "replenish" monies used for Katrina relief.
    "Now the Bayshore is going to pay for it," Grenafege said. Short agreed and said that the money will be taken and used elsewhere. "The government should be taking a proactive approach," he said. "If residents are forced to buy flood insurance, they should receive some sort of monetary relief from the government, on all levels: statewide, countywide and within the municipality."
    During a time when the real-estate market is doing poorly, Caliendo said it
would be difficult to pass along the financial burden of living in a flood zone when selling a house. "Certainly its worth will go down," he said.
    Grenafege also mentioned that Middletown now has to re-evaluate every home in the flood zone in order to fairly assess its respective worth.
    Short said the governing body has assured residents they would receive notification of the new flood maps. Additionally, Short noted the township would re-evaluate homes. "We are going to fight this battle on their behalf," he said.
    "They say 'Middletown Matters:" Grenafege added, "So let's make the residents actually matter."
    The next Township Committee meeting will be held on Monday, April 21 at 8 pm in Town Hall, One Kings Highway.

(This is the first installment in an 8-part series focusing on a range of issues surrounding the FEMA flood map controversy. The next installment of the series will include the Republican Party perspective of the FEMA flood map controversy.)