Charlestown’s FEMA Rating Best In New England
The following letter was sent to local newspapers and is shared with us here by the author Bonnie Van Slyke. Bonnie Van Slyke is a member of the Charlestown Town Council.
Charlestown has received notice from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that our town is now rated “Class 6” under the Community Rating Service (CRS). This designation will result in our residents receiving a 20% discount on flood insurance.
Charlestown is the only Class 6-rated community in all of New England. Charlestown residents were given a 15% discount under our previous rating, which was also a very high rating. Now thanks to Charlestown’s open space, regulatory standards, and the hard work of Charlestown Building Official Joseph Warner and other town staff, homeowners will receive an even deeper discount on flood insurance.
The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management practices that exceed the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
In CRS communities, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community’s efforts that address the three goals of the program:
- Reduce and avoid flood damage to insurable property
- Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the National Flood Insurance Program
- Foster comprehensive floodplain management
Charlestown received a total of 2,394 points under the Community Rating System. The breakdown of those points is below with the highest points received for protected open space (932 points), higher regulatory standards (501 points), and the Charlestown Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (200 points). CRS credit is given for communities that preserve significant portions of flood-hazard areas as open space.
You can learn more about Bonnie at her profile page.
Banner image is a photo of Buckeye Brook Road during the Great Flood of 2010.
June 1, 2021 @ 2:23 pm
Thanks Bonnie, excellent article as usual. Kudos to Joe Warner. Charlestown should very thankful we have him and his hard work.
June 1, 2021 @ 9:22 am
Agreed, and thanks to Bonnie for documenting this so well.
June 1, 2021 @ 9:22 am
It takes a lot of hard work, perseverance, and a consistent effort over a period of time, to get a Class 7 rating, and then having it improved to a Class 6 rating. Thank you to Joe Warner and his staff for their detailed work on this effort. Also, thank you to present and past Planning Commission members for all their work and focus to allow all the various categories in the rating, to have improved over time.
I hope that the people and processes which lead to this improvement, will remain in place to maintain , and even continue to improve our status. Thank you all.
May 28, 2021 @ 1:14 am
This is great news and a testament to the continuing excellent work of the Building Official, Town Administrator, and planning and management personnel. Another reason for Charlestown residents to take pride in the way the town is and has been run.