High flood insurance premiums in Fairhaven are leaving residents out to dry.

At Monday's Selectmen's meeting, representatives spoke about FEMA's Community Rating System that gives discounts to participating communities going beyond the minimum standards for flood preparation.

The CRS program puts cities and towns into a 1-10 ranking based on different criteria. A class 1 ranking gets the community 45% off their flood insurance premium, while a class 10 ranking gets you nothing.

If the town joins the program, Fairhaven is expected to rank between class 9 and 8, which would give residents a 5% or 10% discount, respectively.

Only Roseville, CA qualifies for the CRS's 45% discount. Most of the other 1,300 participating communities around the country earn 5 to 15% discounts.

Fairhaven resident, Ann Pittman tells WBSM News the small discount won't be enough to offset ever-growing insurance rates.

"I'm not happy. I mean, I thought I'd buy a house by the coast. Beautiful, across the street from the beach, and I'm not even sure I can sell it," Pittman said.

Other residents, like Susan Sullivan say they'll take whatever discount they can get.

"At this point, the rates are so exorbitant. You know, you say 'oh it's only 5 or 10%.' Well, that can be a substantial amount of money when you're paying $10,000 in flood insurance," Sullivan said.

Massachusetts currently has 13 communities in the CRS program. The highest ranking in the state is a class 8 at 10% discount.

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