CEDAR FALLS -- The City Council authorized staff Monday to make the most heavily damaged homes the target of buyouts, and dropped those with less than 50 percent damage from its priority list.

The staff will complete a letter of intent to participate in a buyout program.

The city's letter, to be submitted to the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division in the next two weeks, identifies 128 properties where owners have expressed an interest and the properties had severe damage from floods.

When the city asked for interest in buyouts after the June flood, 193 property owners indicated they would be interested in having their home bought.

The letter of intent will be reviewed by the state authorities, then the Federal Emergency Management Agency will decide on flood buyout allocations for the state. No buyout money is expected to trickle down until next year.

The council had earlier decided to adopt a policy that would offer eligible homeowners the pre-flood assessed value of their homes, plus $10,000 in relocation costs. Property owners would be able to appeal a buyout offer.

In earlier flood buyouts in the 1990s, the city assessed each property, but the council decided that with the amount of damage in this year's flood it would be difficult to get assessments.

Last month the council agreed on priority guidelines for buyouts.

First priority would be residential properties located in the floodway that sustained more than 50 percent damage. The second priority would be similar homes in the 100-year flood plain. Next would be rental or second homes with 50 percent damage or more and in the area of the 1990s buyout programs. The last two priorities identified in July were removed Monday. Those included properties with less than 50 percent damage in the floodway, 100-year flood plain and former buyout area, in that order. The final priorities would be properties in the 500-year flood plain.

City staff felt the city would have a greater chance of receiving federal flood buyout money if it focused on properties that were more heavily damaged.

Contact Jon Ericson at (319) 291-1461 or jonathan.ericson@wcfcourier.com.