Homeowners, City at Odds Over Flood Buyout Program in Oklahoma

Owners of homes in a Muskogee, Okla., subdivision want the city to give them fair market compensation for their homes as part of a flood-buyout program.

But the city says it doesn’t have the money to match federal grants to pay for the program or the resources to apply for the grants.

The Muskogee Phoenix reports that after serious flooding in the Meadows subdivision, the city bought 12 properties located in a flood plan. City Planner Tish Callahan says the buyout ran from 2003 to 2006 and was funded through a federal grant.

Callahan says several homeowners rejected the city’s offers, including Stan Clark, who says he did so because the city didn’t offer fair market value.

Ronald Dean, an appraiser for Muskogee County, says homes in the Meadows remain popular.

Information from: Muskogee Phoenix