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before any specific offers could/would be made to owners. Small Business AdministraIion (SBA) loans. for ex- ample, had to be paid off 10 the extent possible before a homeowner was paid for Iheir buyout property. In addition. all proceeds from National Flood In- surance Policy (NFlP) claims were de- ductible unless owners could show proof Ihat funds had been spent on the dwelling in quesIion. The important point to be made here. however, is that Ihe only efficienI manner to '.c1ear'. DOBs was for FEMA to do so because of their ac- cess to NFIP, SBA. and other data bases. Another key lesson learned IhaI surfaced in Ihis process was Ihat ap- praisals had 10 be in hand before DOB information was released to homeowners and community officials. SIrange as it may seem, the value of a property changed once Ihe actual de- ducIions became known - if Ihe ap- praisal was noI already in the file. The process by which the value of a dwelling was detertnined is anoIher area deserving of special comment. At the outset. pre-tlood fair market value was to be Ihe price paid to an owner. WhaI was not clear was the process used 10 deIermine Ihis value and the meIhod by which the ineviIable dis- putes would be resolved. Very early. some communi lies were allowed to use the accessed fair markeI value plus a factor which offseI any recognized communiIy-wide shortfalls noted in the assessment. Although this approach worked for the most part, it became increasingly clear Ihat the most appro- priaIe process was to use board-certi- fied appraisers to establish values. Page 6 Even Ihis process had tlaws be- cause many appraisers wanted to use comparables 10caIed ouIside of a tlood hazard area. This. of course, created a false value since the property in ques- tion was subject 10 tlooding. a fact that in turn surely had a negative impact on worth. Even though SEMA used board-certified appraisers. problems still surfaced. To secure expert advice on disputed properties and 10 settle dis- putes in a credible fashion. the State reIained an independent appraiser with a known favorable reputation. This process worked. Not all properly own- ers got whaI they wanted. and some eventually refused the final buyout of- fer. but at least the process was one Ihm could be explained successfully to elected ofticials and others who had an interes!. The message is: use a board certified appraiser only and have a pro- cess to setIle disputes. Several additional related issues also are worIh a mentioning. The DOB process must for the sake of adequate control of the situation be processed through the SEMA. With the need for a speedy resoluIion of the situation for earlier projects. communities were en- couraged to pass DOB requests directly 10 FEMA. In return, FEMA would then pass its response directly to the requesI- ing community. This process in fact was counter-producIive in that iI slowed progress. FEMA Region VII.s DOB office was very small - two people at the mos!. Because of Ihis. communiIies at times had to wait several weeks for FEMA's response - a delay Ihat was unknown to the state. Many limes, once SEMA became involved with a prob- lem. questions could be cleared up rap- idly. A good case in point involved the official close out papers; the docu- ments. usually no more than Iwo pages, which contained a summary of Ihe ac- tual property transaction. Earlier in the process. communities were told 10 for- ward close out paperwork directly to FEMA Region VII. If the regional of- fice received a close out wiIh an irregu- lariIy - maybe a departure from state policy - FEMA.s regional office had to call the state for clarification. This added to Ihe delays associated with processing the action. The stale. of course. was suffering from an unin- Ientionally self-intlicted problem. be- cause in trying to make the process as easy for local communi lies as possible, it had allowed an unfortunate bypass of necessary informaIion to flow around iIself. The message here is simple - all information simply mllst flow through the state coordinator. This may seem like a lot of work and needless layering, buI most assuredly, the effort will pay big dividends in the long term. The message here isl simple - all information simply must flow through the state coordinator... most assuredly, the effort will pay big dividends in the long term. '0M _~ _ &w. 'fV;,~_ ~ Buck Kat!, Deputy Director Missouri State Emergency Management Agency