LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Big changes for those rebuilding on Fort Myers Beach as FEMA told town leaders that they found "wide disparities" in the tax value appraised after Hurricane Ian — Lee County Properties Appraisers Office will no longer use those appraisals to determine rebuilding costs.
The town's mayor is recommending that residents get a private appraiser to determine a value FEMA will accept. This is especially important for those impacted by the 50% rule in the National Flood Insurance program.
Here is how mayor Dan Allers explains it,
"We strongly recommend using methods other than the product created by the lee county property appraiser. That’s pretty strong language.. so moving forward we are going to recommend which we have done all along that our residents seek a private evaluation because within our code we can do that… we do not know any more information than that…"
No word tonight on what exactly those disparities were that FEMA found with Lee County Property Appraiser's Office. However, Fort Myers Beach leaders did post a step-by-step process to help residents understand their options regarding repairs and rebuilding.
You can check that out by clicking HERE.
