CHENANGO COUNTY – The county will be moving forward with a state program offered by the Division of Community Renewal to help residents whose homes were significantly damaged during the flooding of 2006.

According to County Emergency Management Deputy Director Matthew Beckwith, the Chenango County Planning Board passed a resolution Tuesday allowing the Emergency Management Office to contract with a Cortland area consulting firm to help move forward with the buyout process. Beckwith said he plans to meet with the company soon to lay down the groundwork for the program.

“Time is of the essence. That’s why we asked the planning committee to pass this resolution and start the process,” Beckwith said.

The state buyout program provides money for the acquisition of properties damaged by flooding since 2004, that are determined to be at future risk. Since the 2006 flooding, some homeowners in the area have been left paying mortgages for homes that are uninhabitable. The program would provide buyout money to some of those homeowners. Properties would then be transferred to the county and demolished.