Facing a mountain of debt after the devastation from Hurricane Irene, local towns, villages, schools and the county have been thrown a lifeline by New York State.
Local representatives have been promised funding from FEMA and the state to cover the majority of the costs to repair roads, bridges, and buildings damaged in the flood but have been scrambling to pay for the remaining 12.5 local share, which will mount into the millions of dollars.
At the Middleburgh fire house last Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state will be covering the local share for local municipalities for disaster work.
Of 25 counties that received funding, Schoharie County will get the most by far.
The estimated cost of recovery in the county is nearly $103 million with the local cost of $12.8 million.
Without help from the state, local officials were planning to either hike taxes or borrow funds to pay for the local share.
Middleburgh Supervisor James Buzon said the local share for the town would have been about $90,000.
"There's no way we could come up with that money," he said. "We'd have to take out another loan.
"It was a godsend for the town."
The county itself suffered about $50 million in damages to roads, bridges, and buildings, said Treasurer Bill Cherry.
If the state did not come up with the local share, the county would have been on the hook for about $6.25 million.
The county has already borrowed $10 million to help pay for initial costs, Mr. Cherry said, but may have been forced to borrow again to pay the local share.
The extra state funds will go a long way in helping the county recover financially, the Treasurer said.
"As we recover and pull our way out of the flood and get our lives back on line, we'll be back where we were, debt free," he said.
"It's huge for the county," said Harold Vroman, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.
"We were looking to come up with that, now we can turn our energies and money to more recovery."
After the announcement, Assemblyman Pete Lopez said the extra state funding was something that state officials have been working on for months.
"We got the message from local communities," he said.
"It was very clear, they couldn't do it...We're trying to get the funds redirected and into the hands of the people."
The extra state funds will mean about $170,000 to the Town of Blenheim, said Supervisor Bob Mann.
Town officials were anticipating having to borrow the funds, he said.
Borrowing that much could have raised taxes about 10 percent a year for 10 years, Mr. Mann said.
Now, the town can focus more on recovery, he said.
"We have an opportunity to come out of this whole, which is amazing," Mr. Mann said.
"We can plan for the future with a much clearer picture."
About 90 percent of the costs in the town were from road damage and the remainder was damage to buildings.
There was little road damage in the Town of Schoharie but the flood did damage the covered bridge, buildings, and the Central Bridge sewer plant, said Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone.
The extra money from the state gives the town "a chance for a new beginning without having that cloud over our heads, wondering where that money would be coming from," he said.
"It's the best thing that could happen to us. There was a lot of relief in that room."
Schoharie Village Mayor John Borst said he did not know how much extra funding will be coming to the village but knew that it will be a big help.
"It's a big plus. It helps a lot," he said.
The village could be getting as much as $240,000, the Mayor said.
Mayor Borst has been impressed with the Governor, who also made several trips to the Valley after the flood.
"The guy gets the picture," Mayor Borst said.
While the village hall in Middleburgh was not destroyed, as it was in Schoharie, the state funds are important in the village, said Mayor Matthew Avitabile.
"It's a big piece of the puzzle," he said. "These funds will go to good use immediately."
The schools in Middleburgh were heavily damaged by the flood.
Superintendent Michele Weaver said the district suffered about $4 million in damages, of which $3 million are eligible for FEMA funding.
She is not sure how extra funds will be coming to MCS, but said "it will be significant."