Ithaca staff: CRS application could cut federal flood-insurance premiums modestly; mitigation project may reduce net benefit

Sam, a city staff member, briefed the Ithaca Common Council on the Community Rating System (CRS), a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program that can lower premiums for federally backed flood insurance, and the likely financial trade-offs for the city and residents.

The presentation explained that CRS is “a points based program” in which municipalities earn credit for activities — from record-keeping to public outreach to regulatory changes — that reduce flood risk and therefore reduce premiums for policyholders. “CRS only applies to federally backed insurance,” Sam said, adding that CRS discounts apply only to federally backed policies issued under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

City staff and a consultant reviewed the new FEMA flood maps and performed a benefit–cost analysis to compare the city’s administrative costs against projected savings to policyholders. The presentation noted FEMA’s new maps expand the number of residential properties in the floodplain from about 100 on the old maps to roughly 750 on the 2025 maps — an increase of roughly 650 properties added to the mapped floodplain. Staff used FEMA’s estimate of about $1,800 annually for federal flood-insurance premiums in the local ZIP code as a baseline; third-party estimates vary widely, up to $2,000–$5,000 for some properties.

The analysis found Ithaca already performs a number of CRS activities and could likely apply…