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Terrebonne Council obligates FEMA funds for home elevations; staff says homeowners cover local match
Summary
The council unanimously approved several resolutions obligating FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance funds to complete home elevations at three addresses. Council discussion clarified the homeowner is responsible for the program’s local match (the insurance-based ICC mechanism).
The Terrebonne Parish Council unanimously approved a series of resolutions obligating FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance program funds to complete the elevations of three properties: 212 Tina Street in Houma, Project No. FMA-EMT-2020-FMD-053-17; 368 Bayou De Cade (transcript spelling: Bayou De Cad... location and ZIP not fully specified), Project No. FMA-EMT-2020-FMD-053-03; and 319 Ann Street in Thibodaux, Project No. FM-PJ-06-LA2019-005. Each resolution passed on voice or electronic vote with a 9-0 tally.
Councilman Carl Lee Harding asked whether the parish or homeowner bears the local match for these elevation projects. A parish staff member explained that, while the resolutions obligate parish administration of FEMA funds, the typical funding structure requires a homeowner share. Staff described the parish’s local match mechanism as connected to insurance and identified the homeowner as responsible for the roughly 10% local match under the applicable program rules — a mechanism the staff referred to as the ICC. “So it's actually the homeowner that is responsible for that 10%,” a parish staff member said.
Harding pressed whether the parish could supplement people who would face significant out-of-pocket expenses; staff responded that generally the parish does not pay the homeowner match for these FHA/FEMA elevation projects and that homeowners typically satisfy the match through insurance arrangements. The council approved each resolution after the clarification.
Actions: the motions to obligate federal FMA funds were moved and seconded by council members as listed on the agenda; votes were recorded as 9-0 on each item. The council approved the three actions in a single meeting.
The resolutions obligate federal funds for individual elevation projects; they do not in themselves appropriate additional parish discretionary funds to cover homeowner matches. Council members asked staff to continue identifying potential supplemental assistance channels where available and to provide clarification on insurance and funding mechanics during project implementation.
