[Town Supervisor Kory] O’Hara pointed out... that many homeowners are wavering in terms of investing in the town’s future, with floods virtually certain to happen again, and that only 2 of the 21 businesses in town have been able to reopen, to date, even with Herculean effort.

“It would take somewhere between $20,000 to $50,000, depending upon the situation, for each of these businesses to get back in operation,” O’Hara said. “And it has to be a grant, not a loan. Most of these folks were just making enough to put bread on the table. They weren’t buying new cars.

“We’re at a point where we don’t know whether we should keep going or stop and wait to see if the dollars are going to be available to help us,” O’Hara said. “Do we leave our town as it is right now or move forward? I know one thing. The money isn’t going to come from our town budget.”

“I’m not here to give you promises and pledges we can’t keep,” Lt. Gov. Duffy said. “The State is in tough financial straits. I can say we’re pushing as hard as we can for federal aid to cover as much of this as possible. I would never say spend money you don’t have.”