ALBANY — Area municipalities reported actions aimed at combating conditions created by climate change, the state’s fiscal watchdog reported — part of a growing trend statewide.
The Office of the State Comptroller reported Thursday that three local municipalities were among the 77 reporting work in recent years to adapt to hazards such as increased flooding and severe weather.
“Climate change poses significant threats to communities in New York,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “Concerns are growing about severe heat waves and droughts, more frequent and destructive storms, and flooding and rising sea levels that threaten both coastal and inland communities.”
The comptroller said governments are shouldering much of the financial burden of climate change as they maintain infrastructure, including roadways and drinking water and sewer systems.
“Local officials will increasingly need to assess the need for additional climate actions, plan for these higher costs, and communicate these challenges to stakeholders at the state and local levels,” he said.
In response to a survey in 2022, the 95 Climate Smart Communities around the State surveyed by OSC confirmed that local governments are having to adapt local infrastructure to new, harsher conditions caused by climate change. Of the 95, 77 reported having to take at least one action to adapt to hazards, with increased flooding and severe weather particularly commonly reported.
Local actions reported by participating communities include:
- Little Valley village officials reported measures to increase resiliency by forming or attending committees, adopting building standards, educating property owners, adopting zoning ordinances, and identifying emergency shelters. In addition, direct actions taken included retrofitting or rebuilding municipal buildings, relocating or demolishing municipal buildings or other infrastructure, rebuilding or retrofitting critical infrastructure, and enlarging or replacing culverts.
- Lyndon town officials reported retrofitting or rebuilding municipal buildings, addressing pavement deterioration, and enlarging or replacing culverts
- Cuba village officials reported direct actions including relocating or demolishing municipal buildings or other infrastructure, rebuilding or retrofitting critical infrastructure, addressing pavement deterioration, and rebuilding bridges.
Around two in three communities registered in the program did not respond to the survey, including the town of Rushford.
The 95 respondents represent 6% of the state’s 1,585 municipal governments, however the respondents reported 10-year (five prior actual years plus five budgeted or planned years) costs of $1.34 billion, of which respondents attributed $737 million to climate change adaptation. They reported being responsible for just over half of these costs, or $384 million, with State or federal sources funding the rest. In addition, this is likely an understatement of the actual cost of adaptation because most respondents did not include increased maintenance and operational costs.
OSC officials said the survey shows that local governments are shouldering a significant burden of the costs of adapting to climate change:
“Since we have surveyed Climate Smart Communities, rather than the entire population of local governments, it is possible that these municipalities may be making more investments in resiliency measures compared to other communities.
“Effective capital planning moving forward requires all local officials to assess the need for additional climate actions, plan for these higher costs, and communicate these challenges to their stakeholders at both the state and local level, so that the infrastructure under their care is being adapted for this long-term challenge.”
