Property owners who signed right-of-entry forms last summer to allow government crews to remove debris after the May 22 tornado will be asked to provide documents so that the city of Joplin’s payment records can be reconciled.
The city is required by federal regulations to determine whether any residential property owners received an insurance payment for loose debris removal when the work was done free by crews contracted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We will send out about 800 letters,” asking property owners to submit copies of their insurance policies and other documents, said Leslie Jones, city finance director. The city is not expecting 800 people to owe money. “We know that not all of them had insurance,” Jones said of those who will receive the letters.
Those who did not have insurance or did not have coverage for loose debris removal, and those who paid a contractor to remove debris even though they signed right-of-entry forms will not owe anything.
The review also does not apply to residential property owners who received free curbside collection of tornado debris, Jones said, or to those who used an insurance payment for some other phase of property cleanup. City officials said, as an example, that if an insurance policy provided $5,000 for the cleanup of loose debris and demolition of any remaining structures, the property owner does not owe anything for government removal if the $5,000 payment was used for demolition.
Property owners may not have intentionally received a payment. City officials said some insurance policies have confusing language about whether loose debris removal is covered in addition to demolition.
In the hardest hit section of the tornado zone, where most buildings were destroyed, FEMA contracted with the Army Corps of Engineers for the removal of loose debris before demolition of damaged buildings could begin.
City officials said right-of-entry forms were required for clearing properties, and those forms specified that the property owner could not have the work done free by the contractors and also receive an insurance payment for it. FEMA refers to that as a duplication of services.
The federal government paid 90 percent of the cost of the debris removal from June 1 until Aug. 7. After that, FEMA’s share of the cost dropped to 75 percent. The state agreed to pay the rest of those costs. FEMA paid $82 million for the debris removal at its 90 percent share before Aug. 7 and an additional $3 million that month until the debris removal was finished.
At the time, the city and FEMA set up a three-tier payment plan for the work so that people who were underinsured but did receive some insurance payment could clear their properties for less money than private contractors charged. If anyone is found to owe money, only the fee from that three-tier plan will be assessed. The fee was based on the size of the lot.
The city’s letter asks that people turn in the requested documents by May 31. Because the city must document to FEMA whether a fee is due, those who do not submit the requested documents will be assessed a fee for the cleanup work.
Residents will be notified by letter if the city determines that no money is owed or if a fee is due, Jones said.
A payment that is found to be owed “will have to come to the city, and we will have to give it back to FEMA,” she said. The city Finance Department will conduct the reviews, and the steps are expected to take several months, she said. She said she may have to arrange for a temporary worker who is experienced in insurance policy language to do the reviews.
Questions?
RESIDENTS WHO RECEIVE the letters and have questions may call the Finance Department at 624-0820, ext. 244.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
City of Joplin to start insurance reviews for debris removal
Some property owners to be asked for documents
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
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SLIDESHOW: One year later, One day of unity, updated
Photos from a day of events commemorating the May 22, 2011 tornado anniversary
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Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
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Rick Rescorla award named for hero of Vietnam War, 9-11 terror attacks
The Rick Rescorla National Award for Resilience is named for a 62-year-old vice president of security for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. who directed an evacuation of the company’s 2,700-person workforce in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011.
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Community gearing up for two-year anniversary ceremony this afternoon
With the playground full of children, it could be any other day at Joplin’s Cunningham Park, but the white tents popping up and neat rows of white chairs lined up nearby indicate something more is happening today.
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Farmers Insurance teams up with Rebuild Joplin
Farmers Insurance announced Tuesday that the company will team up with Rebuild Joplin for an initiative to help the community complete its recovery efforts. The company already has placed one of its executives in Joplin, and it is pledging additional funds and volunteer hours by company workers to go toward the city’s recovery.
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Joplin man continues struggle to recover two years after tornado
As the Joplin tornado passed overhead, sweeping the house at 2430 S. Pennsylvania Ave. away in its wake, there was a moment of calm. Delbert Mcguirk was on his back in the basement, where he had sought shelter along with his wife, daughter and two grandchildren. In that moment of relative quiet, he stared up into the eye of the tornado.
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Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
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Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
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FACES OF RECOVERY: 176,869 volunteers help put Joplin together again
They initially came in droves, pouring into Joplin by the thousands during the months following the May 2011 tornado to clear debris, clean up damaged homes and businesses and distribute donations of food, water, clothing and other necessities.
- More May 2011 Joplin tornado Headlines
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