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Buyout Program includes 14
A total of 14 Franklin Parish residents are currently registered to participate in a flood buyout program administered by the Police Jury.
Mitch Reynolds, director of parish office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, announced the number Monday and urged other interested home owners to register quickly.
"The call for interested home owners has been out for about a month now," Reynolds said, "and the deadline is coming up on Feb. 27"
Reynolds said a simple letter mailed to P. O. Box 741 in Winnsboro will register a home owner.
The letter needs to contain only the address of the property to be listed, and contact information for the owner of the property.
"This is the information we need," said Reynolds, "because the program only deals with property owners and not renters.
"For people who are found eligible," he said, "there are some real benefits. For example, the value of homes will be put at pre-storm (Gustav) levels for folks who have had multiple flooding events."
The program is offered through the State Governor's office and is paid with federal funds, through the state and is administered by local police juries in Louisiana. The Franklin Parish Police Jury designated Reynolds as the operating official for the program earlier this year.
After registering, a home owner will be sent a simple application which will be brought to a meeting where eligibility will be determined and case-by-case resolution will then begin.
In the end, the police jury will own the property which is successfully "bought" from the owner, but the property must remain open space from then on.
In other matters, Reynolds said only two of the 1,268 Hurricane Gustav claims which were processed through his office remain open. All others have been resolved.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reportedly spent nearly $4 million for individual assistance in the parish, including $3,236,676 for housing and $1,042,712 for other necessary allowances. |
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