Mad about FEMA cutting your flood insurance discount? Byron Donalds and Rick Scott step in

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, as well as House Reps. Byron Donalds and Greg Steube urged FEMA to reconsider its decision made last week to downgrade Lee County and four municipalities' floodplain management ratings to the lowest possible class, thereby eliminating a 25% discount to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) residents previously enjoyed.

Calling the decision "catastrophic" for Lee County families and small businesses, the elected officials said it was critical that the federal government work with the county and municipalities to ensure the rating change, anticipated to take place Oct. 1, did not go into effect.

They urged FEMA to restore the discount to homeowners.

"In the wake of disaster recovery and skyrocketing inflation, Lee County residents now face even higher living costs as a result of this decision," the letter read. "We urge you to immediately conduct a thorough review of this decision, honor the original discounts and meet with local leaders to remedy any issues and keep NFIP discounts in place."

Lee County loses National Flood Insurance Plan discounts

Every three years the National Flood Insurance Program conducts a field visit to audit floodplain management activities and flood-mapping records. After each audit, the municipality governments receive a rating from the Class Rating System program, using a 1-10 rating system. Class 10 is the lowest; Class 1 the highest.

The Class Rating System is a voluntary federal program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities exceeding the minimum NFIP standards by providing incentive premium discounts. The discounts are given out in 5% increments using the rating system. For the past 17 years, Lee County has been awarded a Class 5 rating, resulting in a 25% discount for residents enrolled in the NFIP.

More: FEMA slashes 25% flood insurance discount in Lee County, blames unpermitted construction

Only two municipalities in Lee County, Sanibel and the city of Fort Myers, are not impacted by the decision. But homeowners in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Fort Myers Beach, and unincorporated Lee County, which includes Lehigh Acres, Matlacha and vulnerable barrier island Pine Island, will all lose their NFIP discounts.

Over the year and a half since Hurricane Ian, FEMA's representatives conducted site visits across Lee County looking at how locally-adopted floodplain management ordinances were being enforced, and found it lacking, an email from the agency's communication desk said.

The email also said the lowered class ratings and subsequent discount loss were due to "the large amount of unpermitted work, lack of documentation, and failure to properly monitor activity in special flood hazard areas, including substantial damage compliance."

Lee County blames FEMA, says feds did not tell them the discount was in danger

In a meeting earlier this week, Lee County officials blamed FEMA for the ratings change, saying that they were never given any notice that they were in danger of losing the NFIP discount.

“At no time were we informed we were in jeopardy of being retrograded," county manager Dave Harner said. If they had, he said, they would have taken action to avoid the downgrade. Harner also said staff provided all information in a timely fashion and were blindsided by the decision from FEMA.

Ultimately, the County Board of Commissioners decided to send someone to Washington to discuss the ratings change and attempt to appeal the decision, as emails and phone calls have not been successful.

"This is an issue of tremendous magnitude to our county," said Commissioner Brian Hamman in the Tuesday meeting.

More: FEMA mistake? Lee Commission to push back on FEMA cutting flood insurance discounts

Now, federal representatives have chimed in on the decision, lending their support to Lee County residents through a letter to FEMA administrator Deanne Crispwell. The letter noted that the cost of living in Lee County has risen since Ian, with housing costs surging as tens of thousands were displaced into rental units, waiting for their homes to be repaired.

The average cost of a one-bedroom in the region remains about $2,200, per the Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index, which is updated monthly. Average rent for a one-bedroom in the U.S. is just over $1,900 a month.

Per a study out of Rent.com, Florida's median rent sits at $2,095, and the average rent for a one bedroom in Naples is $1,922, below the national average calculated by the Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index.

Some residents are still not back in their homes.

And Florida property owners already pay more than four times the national average for home insurance, up from triple the national average just last year. The cost of homeowner's insurance on average increased more than 40% in the last year.

More: Florida tops US for home insurance rates. What's ahead as 'explosive' hurricane season nears

"Since Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County and caused widespread devastation in Southwest Florida, we have fought to ... ensure a rapid recovery from this deadly storm," the letter reads. "While we appreciated FEMA’s quick response in the immediate aftermath of the storm, we are discouraged by recent actions from the agency. FEMA’s recent decision to lower discounts and raise premiums for some NFIP policyholders in Lee County is liable to create yet another unacceptable rise in costs for Southwest Florida families and businesses.

"We look forward to working with FEMA to maintain NFIP discounts in Lee County as we continue to fight against higher costs for Florida families."

Kate Cimini is the Florida Investigative Reporter for the USA TODAY-Network Florida, based at The News-Press and The Naples Daily News. Contact her at 239-207-9369 or kcimini@news-press.com.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee County flood insurance: Byron Donalds ask FEMA to restore discount