Climate change drives municipal planning challenges

With changing weather patterns creating a growing challenge for communities, multiple sessions during this year’s MMA Annual Meeting will focus on the impacts of climate change, as well as what municipalities can do to maintain buildings and prevent costly damages.

Experts will cover climate science, building resiliency, and risk mitigation — underscoring the critical importance of these issues as municipalities plan for 2024 and beyond.

Saturday keynote Gina McCarthy, who served as the nation’s first national climate advisor, will highlight strategies to drive public engagement by focusing on added opportunities such as job creation and improving health outcomes.

During a MIIA-led workshop, Megan Hart, managing director of Aon’s Catastrophe Risk Analytics Group, will cover the science behind changing weather patterns, and participate in a panel discussion on what municipal leaders can do to mitigate property losses and financial impact.

Massachusetts’ first-ever climate chief, Melissa Hoffer, will speak about her wide-ranging experience working in public service during the Women Elected Municipal Leadership Luncheon.

Statewide focus on climate
Last October, the Healey administration released its ResilientMass Plan, which identified the most significant climate risks the Commonwealth is facing, and what actions are being taken to address them.

The plan cited extreme weather patterns, including inland flooding, high heat, coastal flooding and erosion, and wildfires, as the highest risks to prioritize for statewide action. Severe weather events caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to homes, businesses and crops statewide during 2023 — and infrastructure such as transit service, utilities and coastal ports are also at risk.

Stephen Batchelder, vice president of Claims Operations and Risk Management at MIIA, said changing weather patterns continue to have a direct impact on municipal property damage — and associated insurance claims — across the Commonwealth.

“We are seeing more claims for water losses than ever before, whether from roof leaks, weather-related flooding, or from extreme temperature changes causing pipe freeze-ups,” he said. “These water losses are critical to prevent, as they can lead to costly secondary damage including mold.”

While many think of floods as a coastal problem, incidences of costly inland flooding are now much more common. This spike in extreme weather conditions, coupled with the rising cost of catastrophe reinsurance, could have an adverse impact on property insurance costs (and availability) not only in Massachusetts but across the country. In 2023, there were 25 weather/climate disaster events in the U.S. with damages exceeding $1 billion, an increase from an average of 18 events per year during the previous five years.

Adding to the challenge for municipal governments is that city- and town-owned buildings are typically diverse in age, structural materials and construction practices, which may require specific management plans for each structure.

Kenneth Wertz, executive director of the Massachusetts Facilities Administrators Association and the National School Plant Management Association, said newer building codes promote higher efficiency construction, including a tighter building envelope.

“This is ideal for managing extreme cold and extreme heat efficiently,” he said, “but it can create a lower margin of error when dealing with water intrusion.”

What municipalities can do
When it comes to climate change readiness, municipalities can start by getting a full picture of maintenance needs across town buildings, Wertz said, and then establishing a plan for regular maintenance.

1. Complete a thorough assessment of all buildings, including appliances and systems that require regular maintenance and/or replacement (boilers, HVAC systems, roofs, etc.). Software systems are available for tracking, and MIIA often covers this cost for its members via risk management grants.

2. Implement capital planning that anticipates maintenance needs and includes a realistic timeline for maintenance and replacement. With tight budgets, recommissioning systems may need to be completed on a building-by-building, rotating basis.

3. Set an amount aside in the municipal budget for maintenance. Consult facilities staff for input, and look at what municipalities that are comparable in location and size are doing.

4. Take advantage of state and federal funding earmarked for carbon footprint reduction to help with appliance and systems upgrades. Replacing an old boiler with a newer, high-efficiency system can bring an added benefit of helping to prevent malfunctions (and pipe freeze-ups).

5. Leverage new technologies, such as remote shutoff valves, that can be used in conjunction with plumbing and water level sensors.

Batchelder said municipal officials need to be aware of trends in the property insurance marketplace and how municipal insurance could be impacted moving forward. Volatility in the reinsurance market is leading to higher costs, and could reduce the availability of property insurance as a fallback when disaster strikes. Planning ahead and avoiding maintenance deferral is more critical than ever.

Written by Jennifer Ranz