Monmouth County Community Rating System Assistance Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders constantly pursues measures to better protect our residents from storm-related events and increase county-wide resiliency. Acknowledging that technical, financial, and administrative gaps could be obstacles to communities seeking to improve their pre-disaster planning and mitigation efforts, the Board launched the Monmouth County Community Rating System (CRS) Assistance Program in early 2014. Administered by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the CRS program is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes municipal initiatives going above and beyond NFIP minimum requirements and then scores towns on their effectiveness in dealing with the flood hazard mitigation. Through these local initiatives, our region’s resiliency to storm events and long-term sustainability are greatly enhanced. Monmouth County’s Division of Planning, in collaboration with the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management offers municipalities technical assistance and hosts quarterly CRS Users Group meetings to advance their entry and participation in CRS. In addition to discounts on flood insurance premiums, another benefit derived from the program is better resiliency effort coordination between the county and local communities. To further assist in this, the County created and manages a CRS resources website that provides Users Group members with information and updates on FEMA resources, training, and funding opportunities.