Counties throughout New York State received unexpected and costly flood damage last year, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the state will be footing the bill.
Cuomo announced on Wednesday, April 11, at the Middleburgh Fire Department, the state would cover local expenses in the 25 counties receiving Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance related to last year’s flooding. Statewide recovery cleanup costs are projected to exceed $1.6 billion and involve around 15,000 response and recovery projects. The local share is estimated to total around $60.9 million.
FEMA typically covers 75 percent of eligible disaster response and recovery costs and the remaining 25 percent is usually shared equally between the state and localities. The state is covering local costs through funding approved by the state Legislature and additional federal funds requested by Cuomo.
“The one thing every local official said to me was, ‘We will do everything that we have to do … but we don’t have the money,’” Cuomo said during his speech. “The problem is the damage here was so great, 12.5 percent doesn’t sound like much, but 12.5 percent of $800 million is a lot of money. It is a lot of money on communities that were already taxed and over taxed.”
Cuomo said he then faced the problem of the state, which already faced a difficult financial position, stepping up to help out. Through gathering some state and federal funds, he said the state came up with $60 million to nearly cover the local share.
“We know that the cost of recovery has stretched communities’ budgets beyond their limits,” said RoAnn Destito, commissioner of the state Office of General Services. “The preparation, recovery and rebuild have cost localities millions that they simply cannot afford.”
The funds are being used to cover local costs associated with the use of emergency shelters; road, water and infrastructure repairs; stream and riverbed mitigation; and other cleanup costs.
Middleburgh Supervisor James Buzon applauded Cuomo for his persistence in flood recovery efforts.
“He has been with us every step of the way since the storm,” Buzon said. “He has never stopped fighting for us to help us recover.”
Cuomo said the community spirit and selflessness statewide was impressive and he commended residents for their resilience.
“We saw a resilience of our people that was unbelievable,” Cuomo said. “People just refused to give up. They refused to be defeated.”
FEMA eligible projects throughout Schenectady County are estimated to total more than $3.3 million, according to recently updated information from the Governor’s Office. To date, more than $927,000 has been approved for federal reimbursement.
Judith Dagostino, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, thanked Cuomo for covering the local burden.
“The funds to be made available will pay for the unexpected expenses of guaranteeing the safety of our residents and cleaning up our communities after the devastating flooding this fall,” Dagostino said. “These expenses would otherwise have to be covered by Schenectady County and ultimately our taxpayers, so this direct benefit to our community comes as very welcome news.”
The City of Schenectady’s FEMA eligible projects totaled the most within the county at around $648,000, with the Village of Scotia falling close at around $664,000. Other FEMA eligible project estimates came from the Town of Niskayuna ($142,000), the Town of Rotterdam ($137,000), the Town of Duanesburg ($98,000), the Town of Glenville ($87,000), the Village of Delanson ($45,000) and the Town of Princetown ($31,000). Also, projects enacted through the county totaled $1.07 million.
Rotterdam Town Supervisor Harry Buffardi said the town has already paid all the costs associated with FEMA eligible projects. He was pleased the state would cover the local costs for projects.
“We are happy to get the full reimbursement … it is big money. It is a big, big issue to us,” Buffardi said. “We’ve paid all those costs, so it is just a matter of retrieving all that money.”
Glenville Town Supervisor Christopher Koetzle said the town is in a similar position as Rotterdam.
“It has mostly all been paid for,” Koetzle said. “We are waiting to hear back from FEMA on their reimbursement.”
Koetzle said any reimbursement from FEMA or the state will help the town and he is hopeful the money will come through in time to be included in next year’s budget calculations.
“What we have to do now is replenish the fund balance from any reimbursement we can get,” he said.
Rotterdam Town officials are also exploring whether to offer a buyout program for residents with heavily damaged homes they were unable to return to. If the program progresses, Buffardi said the federal government would cover 75 percent of the cost to buyout a home, with the town covering the remainder. Also, the town would have to cover all expenses for razing the property.
The town is estimating there would be 12 homes demolished through the program.
“I have had residents come in and ask if we are going to buyout,” he said. “It is being conferenced as to whether we are going to do it.”
FEMA projects throughout Albany County came in even higher at an estimated $4.05 million, according to the Governor’s Office, of which $1.68 million has been awarded to date. There is a total of $1.23 million pending eligibility for funding and about $1.26 million of federal funds have been approved.
Projects throughout Saratoga County are estimated to total more than $1.46 million, with almost $555,000 in federal funding already approved.
