Waiver extended for flood victims
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 27, 2016 9:57 AM
The waiver deadline for certain county building and inspection fees has been extended for victims of October's Hurricane Matthew.
Meanwhile, Monday, Jan. 9, is the deadline for registering for assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In Goldsboro, the FEMA/North Carolina disaster relief center is located in the W.A. Foster Center at Mina Weil Park.
Wayne County commissioners initially waived the fees for 45 days following the storm. Last week they extended the waiver through March 31.
The waiver includes some fees in the environmental health area and for building permits.
"We put those in for 45 days," Wayne County Manager George Wood reminded commissioners at their Dec. 20 session. "In talking with Steve Stroud, our chief building inspector, he feels like we need to extend that time on the building portions of that which include all of the permits dealing with construction."
That includes plumbing, electrical, HVAC, mechanical and general construction, and also for any wells and septic systems that would be involved, Wood said.
"I just want to stress that this waiver, which we are asking you to put into effect through March 31, is only for those with properties affected by the hurricane," Wood said. "So for instance, if someone is building an apartment complex, or new house somewhere else, and it is not affected by the storm, those fees would not be waived.
"This is strictly for those are victims of the hurricane."
Victims of the storm may register at a FEMA disaster center.
According to FEMA, residents will need to bring the following information to the center:
* Social Security number.
* Address of the damaged home or apartment.
* Description of the damage.
* Information about insurance coverage.
* A current contact number.
* An address where you can receive mail.
* Bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit of funds.
Other registration options incude going online at DisasterAssistance.gov, downloading the FEMA mobile app or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY should call 1-800-462-7585 directly.
For those who use 711 or Video Relay Service, call 1-800-621-3362.
Once registered, survivors can check their application online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
While at the site, survivors, if needed, can update any changes to mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses.
If they have received insurance settlements or discover additional damages, they also can report these.
For more information on North Carolina's recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4285 and readync.org.
Follow FEMA on Twitter at @femaregion4 and North Carolina Emergency Management @NCEmergency.