WILSON, N.Y. -- In Niagara County, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a ceremonial bill authorizing $55 million in flood relief for Lake Ontario homeowners, farms, business and municipalities.
"It's bad enough they have to go through this," Cuomo (D-NY) said. "We want to make sure they're not economically decimated when it's over."
In reality, the money was approved last week as part of an omnibus bill the legislature passed after the governor called members back for an extraordinary session.
"It doesn't make you popular on campus but it was the right thing to do because there was work that was left undone," Cuomo said.
Legislators had initially passed a $90 million recovery bill, but the governor's office rejected it.
"The problem with the first bill was there was no appropriation with it," he said. "So they pass bills all the time with an amount of money but then they don't attach the money."
The approved funding represents the total damages his office is projecting.
"If the damages exceed the $55 million, I have no problem going back to the legislature and getting more money," Cuomo said.
The governor also announced plans to apply for Federal Emergency Management Assistance. Once the state has a full account of the damages, he believes it will reach the federal threshold for funding.
"We're going to pursue that aggressively because I believe this is a federal responsibility," he said. "We pay federal taxes and they should pay."
Cuomo took a more reserved approach Thursday in his criticism of the International Joint Commission, which regulates the lake levels, but he believes two seats on the commission — one empty and another filled by a person from Montana — should be filled with people familiar with the Great Lakes.
"Today we're calling on President Trump to replace those appointees on the IJC, put appointees who know what they're talking about," he said.
Cuomo is advocating for further studies to make sure shoreline areas are more prepared for high waters in the future.