Dutchtown faces decisions after FEMA flood buyout

The village of Dutchtown has some decisions to make.

Floods in recent years have prompted many residents to move, some taking a buyout from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. The population, which was about 94 in 2010, stands at about 50.

Since 2010, elected members of Dutchtown's board have left, and no one ran in 2015 or 2016, leaving every seat vacant, said Ken Eftink, Cape Girardeau County director of floodplain and stormwater management.

"If no one runs, there are no elected officials," Eftink said at Thursday's county commission meeting.

That's an issue, he said, because having no officials means no one was in office to set the property-tax rate or collect property-tax revenue from property owners in 2015 or 2016, which would fund maintenance and floodplain law enforcement, Eftink said.

"Unless Dutchtown disincorporates, it's not in our jurisdiction," Eftink said of the county government.

FEMA bought out 5.5 acres near the intersection of Highway 25 and Highway 74 in Dutchtown.Andrew J. Whitaker ~ Southeast Missourian

FEMA has bought out about 5.5 acres over the past two years, Eftink said.

He said the population of Dutchtown in 2010 was about 94 people, and about 30 moved with the buyouts. He said it's likely others have moved without taking buyouts.

Of the approximately 50 remaining residents, 18 are registered voters, Eftink said.

That's important because, by Missouri state law, if a petition has signatures of more than half the registered voters residing in a town, the county may move to disincorporate it by ballot measure. Such a measure requires approval by 60 percent of the voters in the town.

If a petition has signatures from three-quarters of the registered voters in a town, by Missouri law, disincorporation would not require a vote, provided the population is under 100, "which it is," county commissioner Charlie Herbst said.

Another option, Herbst said, would be for a single citizen to bring forth a petition to disincorpoate, and that motion wouldn't require a vote.

Normally, a town's elected trustees would have responsibilities at that point, Herbst said, but Dutchtown does not have elected trustees and hasn't for two years.

Eftink said a petition will be available at a town-hall meeting Tuesday.

Dutchtown's population is low, few businesses remain, and to the best of Herbst's knowledge, there is no official post office.

Herbst said he thinks there's a lack of interest in either electing officials to city government or disincorporating.

The county is providing maintenance of the lots at a cost of about $2,000 per year, which includes trash and debris pickup after floods and mowing, Eftink said.

Under FEMA guidelines, buyout property cannot be developed but instead would be kept as an open space in perpetuity, he said.

Eftink said Tuesday's meeting will be the first time he's spoken with the residents of Dutchtown as a group, but individuals have expressed to him interest in seeing the lots mowed by the county.

The Little River Drainage District, which handles drainage and flood prevention for the Missouri Boot-heel and parts of northeast Arkansas, owns some property adjoining the FEMA buyout acres, Eftink said, and he thinks it would be beneficial to the district to also control the buyout property, but nothing firm has been established in that direction.

He said the drainage district maintains a levee along Hubble Creek at Highway 25.

Back in the 1980s, a temporary levee was built to head off flood events, but it was a significant effort with significant cost and eventually became "not logical to continue," Eftink said.

"Fortunately, Dutchtown did move forward with the buyout," he added.

In the flood of January 2016, Eftink said, 11 homes and families were not affected because they'd taken the buyout.

Eftink said he thinks the biggest advantage of disincorporation for Dutchtown residents would be to have a government entity that could step in if problems arise with the lots and could handle maintenance.

Taxes are another concern, Eftink said. Because the property-tax rate hasn't been set or taxes collected since 2014, there might be some concerns there if Dutchtown were to re-elect officials, but he isn't certain of state statutes in that regard.

Nor is it a matter of simply finding one or two residents willing to serve on the board, Eftink said. To have a quorum, three board members would need to be sitting, he said.

"It may take some special action by a judge to appoint three people to serve on the board until they can have a municipal election, likely in April," Eftink added.

Overall, Eftink said, disincorporation would have little impact on the average person of Dutchtown.

"No tax changes would be involved," and existing agreements on road maintenance would continue, he said.

"Most people wouldn't notice much difference except having the county to call on if there's a problem with the lots," Eftink said.

A town-hall meeting is planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Dutchtown Used Furniture, 118 County Road 216.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

Dutchtown, Mo.

118 County Road 216, Delta, Mo.