A meeting was held at Town Hall last evening (October 13th) with officials from FEMA, SBA, AIUA & National Flood.  I will try to summarize the main points of the meeting of those of you who could not attend.  I do remind you however, that it is best to address your problem or specific question to the agency involved.  For FEMA & SBA matters contact 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), also an assistance center has been set up at the Alabama Port Volunteer Fire Station (corner of Hwy 193 & Hwy 188).  The assistance center has officials from FEMA, SBA, and Mitigation on site to assist and answer questions specific to your needs. , Insurance questions contact the company thru which your policies were purchased.  Town officials can answer questions on debris removal, sand issues, building & repair questions at 251-861-5525. 

FEMA does not provide funds for homes that are not full time residences. Many of our property owners have called the FEMA number (1-800-621-FEMA) to apply for assistance and received information that FEMA assistance is not available to them because their home is a rental.  After the meeting I spoke with officials from FEMA & SBA and was told that while rental homes are not eligible for FEMA monies they are eligible for low interest (as low as 2.1%) SBA loans.  To access these loans your rental income must be claimed on your tax return (schedule E) and taxes paid on the income.  The first thing you need to do if you haven’t already is to call the FEMA number to apply for assistance. (Even though you will be ineligible for FEMA funds, the SBA can not assist you until you have applied to FEMA first.)  During you FEMA interview you should tell the interviewer the home in question is a rental property with income claimed on your taxes and you are requesting an SBA loan application be sent to you.  If you have already applied with FEMA, been turned down and received no additional info, call FEMA again, give them your FEMA registration number and request an SBA loan package for rental property.  When you receive the application FILL IT OUT & RETURN IT!  Also, I was told by the SBA to resist the impulse to use your insurance settlement to pay off or down your mortgage because once you do the SBA can no longer help you!

Property Taxes - The Revenue Commissioner, Marilyn Wood was at the meeting and will be mailing out a postcard with the following information:

 Reporting Damage from Hurricane Ivan:

            Hurricane Ivan left some residents of Dauphin Island and surrounding areas of Mobile County with extensive property damage.

            Alabama law requires that owners or their agent must come to the Revenue Commissioner’s office (any location) no later than December 31, 2004 to sign a new assessment officially reporting any damage to the structure, improvements made or the removal of structures from the property if totally gone.  This new assessment would reflect the condition of the property as of October 1, 2004.

            In addition to reporting any damage, the property owner may file an appeal with the Board of Equalization if they feel the Fair Market Value is excessive beginning January 1, 2005 for the 2005 tax year.  My office will make every effort to assist property owners in reporting their losses.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT PROPERTY TAXES ARE PAID IN ARREARS, AND NO ADJUSTMENT CAN BE MADE FOR THE 2004 TAX BILL.

Phone Number for Tillman’s Corner Office is 251-574-3286

Flood Insurance Coverage under Homes on Pilings:

            Homes built before 12-31-1974 are considered prefirm homes. There “should” be coverage on the enclosures under the home.  Anything built after 1974, the structures under the home and their contents are most likely not covered by your flood policy.  The exception on contents coverage is that you may get coverage for a freezer, washer or dryer under the home.  According to the Nation Flood official, concrete slabs under the homes are covered by flood only if the slabs are 6” thick and contain rebar, and even then they still may not be not be covered.  Flood guidelines say that the concrete under your home cannot be that thick or contain rebar.  IF YOU HAD A CONCRETE SLAB UNDER YOUR HOME THAT YOU WISH TO REPLACE, SPEAK WITH THE TOWN BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT AND YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY TO CLARIFY WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN NOT DO AND WETHER OR NOT ANY NEW SLAB WILL BE COVERED.

            Elevators “may“be covered if machinery is above base flood elevation.  If machinery is below base flood elevation it will not be covered.

50% Damage-

            Homes with 50% or more damage must be rebuilt to current building codes.  (50% means the cost of the damages is greater than 50% of the homes fair market value, which is the value of the property before the damages occurred.) The Town Building Inspection Dept can explain better than we can how they arrive at the percentage of damage.  If you do not agree with the percentage of damage for your home, you may contact the Town to dispute.  You may also at your expense, hire an appraiser to determine the fair market value for your home. 

Debris Pick Up -

            According to Mayor Collier, the debris on the west end of the Island will be picked up last.  This is to give those of you on the west end who need steps, etc.., more time to gain access to your property and more time to work on removing the debris from your home.  At this time the Town does not have information on a deadline for debris to be placed on the right of way for removal. 

Sand Removal -

            A sand permit must be completed before any sand can be moved on your property.  The permit forms are at Town Hall and there is no cost for the permit.  If you have excess sand on your property and wish to have it removed, the Town is encouraging you to have the excess sand pushed to the edge of your property at the right of way, adding it to the Town piles.  The Town will then use that sand to help replenish the beaches, which benefits us all.