It is recommended that the City Commission accept the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) 2022 Program for Public Information (PPI) prepared for the Community Rating System (CRS) program by the Program for Public Information Committee. The committee’s continuous participation and work is required to monitor the implementation of flood awareness projects, which provide valuable activity points for the CRS program. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) in 1990.

The Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program allowing communities to earn flood insurance discounts.  Cities earn points for conducting activities promoting flood insurance and reducing flood risk. The CRS rating scores range from 1 to 10 (1 being the highest and 10 the lowest). Miami Beach pursued an aggressive goal to improve its CRS ranking from a Class 6 to a Class 5 and was officially awarded the new score in May of 2019. As a result, many new policies and renewals after May 1, 2019 have been able to save 5% more on flood insurance premiums. With this score improvement, the City receives a 25% discount that totals $8.6 million in savings annually.  In April of 2022, the City received notice of the successful three-year recertification audit and will retain the Class 5 score.  This helps offset increasing federal rates.

The Program for Public Information Committee (PPI) was first created by the City Commission through Resolution No. 2017-30104 on November 29, 2017. The original Program for Public Information Plan was approved on March 1, 2017 via Resolution No. 2017-29771. A progress report is submitted annually to the City Commission as required by the program.  On June 16, 2022, the PPI Committee approved the Five-Year Program for Public Information Report to be transmitted to City Commission.

The mission of the proposed Program for Public Information Committee is to create and monitor a Program for Public Information (PPI) plan with the purpose of reducing flood risk and ultimately reducing the cost of flood insurance. The committee meets twice a year to address CRS requirements as well as monitoring and evaluating the plan. The committee’s composition requires representation from communications, floodplain management, real estate, banking, and insurance. The committee was first created by the City Commission through Resolution No. 2017-30104 on November 29, 2017. The Program for Public Information Committee members are:

• Melissa Berthier, Communications Representative,

  Director, Marketing and Communications Department

• Alex Carrasco, Banking Industry Representative

Vice President, Iberia Bank

• Scott Diffenderfer, CIPS, LCAM, Real Estate Agent Representative

Licensed Real Estate Broker Associate, Compass,

President of the Belle Isles Residents Association

• Carlos Gutierrez, PA, Real Estate Agent Representative

Broker Associate, Coldwell Banker

2016 President Miami Association of Realtors

• Mohsen Jarahpour, CFM, Floodplain Manager Building Department

• John J. Lee, Insurance Agent

Vice President, FirstService Financial

• Amy Knowles, Chief Resilience Officer, Committee Liaison

This year, the committee focused on creating a new Program for Public Information, as required by the CRS. The new Program for Public Information includes revised messaging, updated target audiences, and outreach projects. New Activities were incorporated into the document, along with a collection of updates. This new PPI will act as a project guide for the next five years.

The National Flood Insurance Program Public Information Plan details the city’s various flood mitigation efforts and promotes flood awareness, and the City Commission adopted the last annual update on December 8, 2021, via Resolution No. 2021-31936.

The new 2022 Program for Public Information Plan, Attachment 1, includes:

• A new Program for Public Information Plan
• Updated Target Audiences
• Revised Messaging
• Inventory of Other Public Information Efforts
• Five Year Outreach Implementation Table; and
• Other Updates.

According to the 2022 Community Survey, residents of the City of Miami Beach identified stormwater and drainage improvement efforts as high priority. 61% of respondents felt that stormwater and drainage improvements were the most important capital improvement project the city could undertake. 79.8% of respondents were either supportive or very supportive of the city spending tax dollars to address sea-level rise.

City staff, specifically the Chief Resilience Officer, (City Manager’s Office), the Floodplain Manager (Building Department), and the Director of Marketing and Communications all dedicate hours to the Committee, reports and activities.  Outreach is distributed through existing communications channels with some target direct mailing and materials at a cost of less than $10,000 annually. Due to the City’s performance in the FEMA full Community Rating System program, most NFIP policy holders receive a 25% discount that totals $8.6 million in savings annually.