Funding for the buyout of homes inundated in the spring’s historic flood could become available by March 1, city, state and federal officials told about 35 homeowners gathered Thursday night.

“I hope those of you who are here seeking help will learn something tonight that will be useful as you go through this process,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield told the group of residents who may apply for the voluntary buyout program. “Make sure the questions you have are answered.”

The city is expected to fund 25 percent of the buyout, with the remaining 75 percent coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which announced last week that it was out of money and is awaiting new funding from Congress.

Raymond Orbisi, FEMA supervisor for applications, grants and planning, said after the forum that the budget problem is temporary.

“The (buyout) money has already been set aside,” he said. “Once the budget issues are resolved (by Congress), the money will become available, although there may be a delay.”

Bennie Craft Jr., who lives at 114 Williams St. in Kings, was one of the residents at the forum. He pleaded for speed in the buyout, saying the Mississippi River, which inundated his home before cresting at 57.1 feet in Vicksburg on May 19, knocked his home off its foundation.

“It’s gone,” he said. “They’ve got to get going and get busy. My father’s 89 and my mother’s 85. I’m 64. There’s no rebuilding.”

Residents in the Kings community and Ford Subdivision in north Vicksburg, and the Cedars School Circle and Warrenton Place areas west of U.S. 61 South, fled their homes in early May as the river rose to record heights and finally crested 14.1 feet above flood stage and 1.3 foot above the Great Flood of 1927.

Most of the people at Thursday night’s forum at Vicksburg Auditorium lived in Kings before the flood.

“I wanted to know if I would have to accept the city’s offer,” Charles Whitney said after the meeting.

His home on Davenport Alley took on 23 inches of water and a city building inspector has determined his house was substantially damaged, meaning the damage was more than 50 percent of the home’s value before the flood.

Questions about property settlements dominated the audience’s questions, as the residents wondered if they would be forced to accept the city’s offer.

Victor Gray-Lewis, Vicksburg’s director of buildings and inspection, said homes approved for the buyout will be appraised at their values before the flood, using information from the Warren County Assessor’s office.

“This is a voluntary program. “You do not have to accept the city’s offer,” said Jana Henderson, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s Mitigation Grants Bureau.

Henderson said, however, that if homeowners received assistance before the buyout, that money would be deducted from their settlement.

The buyout program is expected to be handled in two rounds, with homes that do not qualify for the first round being considered in a possible second round.

To qualify for the first round, Gray-Lewis said, homes must be in the floodplain, known as the city’s 1 percent flood area, and have been inspected by the city and determined to have substantial damage.

Gray-Lewis said the buyout program is in the pre-application stage, where homeowners will prepare buyout applications that will be reviewed by city, MEMA and FEMA officials.