Corbett says HUD approves 107-percent of pre-flood value

Mayor Ron Corbett announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has agreed to pay owners of flood-damaged properties 107 percent of the pre-flood value of their properties.

This is a change: Owners had expected to receive 100 percent of pre-flood value.

Corbett also said the city would use local-option sales tax revenue to assure that those who purchase homes to replace ones lost in the June 2008 flood will get credit for up to $25,000 in down payment assistance. Those owners have faced having that sum, which was paid earlier in state Jumpstart funds, subtracted from the money they will receive in the buyouts of their homes.

The HUD decision to buy out properties for 107 percent of pre-flood alue will affect some 1,200 property owners who will have their properties bought out using federal Community Development Block Grant funds. About 400 of those who are awaiting buyouts have purchased replacement homes and will benefit from the decision to use local-option sales tax revenue for that purpose.

Another 100 or so owners close to the river are having their homes bought out with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA has not yet agreed to pay 107-percent of pre-flood value, but Corbett said the city is working with FEMA on the matter.

Upon taking office in January, Corbett began pushing to get more help for flood victims.

In recent days, he's worked with City Assessor Scott Labus to take a fresh look at how accurate the valuations of properties were in the flood-hit neighborhoods at the time of the June 2008 flood.

This week, Labus said that he brought new tools to bear on the issue, and now has concluded that the city's assessed values in flood-hit neighborhoods were at about 94 percent of the market value of those homes at the time of the flood.

The premise of the buyout program is to pay owners market value, and paying 107 percent of pre-flood assessed value will better approach 100 percent of market value of the properties at the time of the flood, Labus has now concluded.

New council member Don Karr said he, like Corbett, had pushed to get property owners up to 110 percent of pre-flood assessed value. But Karr credited Corbett with doing the legwork to get the figure to 107 percent from 100 percent.

Council member Chuck Wieneke, who has been on the council for two years and has been a lead council voice on buyouts, also credited Corbett for bringing new information to the attention of the state and federal government.

Dan Miller, a flood victim, had advocated for months for the two buyout-related changes announced on Wednesday, and last night he credited Corbett for listening and getting results. Miller said he was most happy for elderly neighbors and others who are struggling financially and who now may see more money from a buyout.