The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), recently notified the City of St. Augustine that the city meets the qualifications to increase its CRS rating to a Class 4 in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS).  This designation provides homeowners a 30 percent discount on flood insurance premiums for most NFIP policies issued or renewed on or after April 1, 2026.  This is an increase of 5 percent from the previous Class 5 rating, which provides a 25 percent discount.

On Monday, August 25, 2025, during the regular City Commission meeting, Richard “Buddy” Schauland, Floodplain Administrator and Building Official, presented an update to the City Commission, sharing the good news, “We improved our score by almost 200 points, FEMA accepted our studies that had been done under the Watershed Master Plan… with that last hurdle for the prerequisite, we will be a Class 4 Community.”  With around 1800 communities nationwide that participate in this voluntary CRS program, the City of St. Augustine is one of 25 that are Class 4 or higher.  In the past 10 years, the city has gone from a Class 7 to a Class 4, and now stands only 279 points away from becoming a Class 3.   

This savings is a tangible result of the flood mitigation and floodplain management activities by the City of St. Augustine, including but not limited to outreach projects, floodplain management planning, drainage and ditch maintenance, open space preservation, flood protection assistance and information services, higher regulatory stormwater and building standards, and having a Chief Resilience Officer and a strong GIS Division.

City Manager David Birchim applauded the work of City staff, saying, "All of this is based on a tremendous amount of work done by city staff behind the scenes. They are among the most professional and hardest-working teams in Northeast Florida when it comes to resiliency and floodplain management. All the credit goes to them, and I congratulate them."

The notification letter commends the City of St. Augustine, citing how these important measures ultimately protect lives, reduce property damage, enhance public safety, protect the natural functions of floodplains, reduce flood insurance premiums, and leads the community to be more disaster resistant.

Since the NFIP CRS verification visit occurs on a three-year cycle, the rating will be renewed annually for the next three years so long as the city continues to implement the CRS activities it certifies in the annual recertification documentation.  A copy of the final verification field report is available online.

For inquiries about the NFIP CRS program, contact Ray Deschler, Floodplain Coordinator, at 904.201.8840 or via email at rdeschler@citystaug.com.

For media inquiries, contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904.293.3307 or via email at mwissel@citystaug.com.