A year to the day that record rains flooded Vermont in July 2023, Lyndon Town Clerk Dawn Dwyer learned the federal government had approved her community’s request for cleanup reimbursement.
Then came the anniversary shower.
“It wasn’t raining money,” Dwyer said of the July 2024 replay storm.
Lyndon thought its 2023 damage tab of $500,000 was steep. But the 2024 deluge has required the town, population 5,491, to take out a $15 million line of credit — twice the amount of its $7.4 million annual budget — to repair roads, the municipal office building, water and sewer plants and a historic covered bridge.
“We’re not really sure if that’s going to be enough,” Dwyer said of the borrowing limit.
As Vermont prepares for March Town Meeting voting, Lyndon isn’t the only flooded community with lingering pools of red ink — and a cloud of questions about whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency will uphold past promises to cover 75% to 90% of cleanup costs amid President Donald Trump’s call for cuts.
Sutton, population 913, paid off a $500,000 line of credit for 2023 damage after requesting and receiving FEMA funds, only to see 2024 downpours require a $1 million line of credit — a figure slightly higher than the town’s annual budget — as local leaders seek another round of government help.
“We are struggling financially due to flooding,” said Patricia McClure, Sutton’s town clerk and treasurer.
Moretown, with 1,753 people and a $1.9 million annual budget, reports a collective $9 million in damage from 2023 and 2024 storms. But the town so far has received only about $750,000 from FEMA.
“It’s been really rough,” said Cherilyn Brown, Moretown’s town clerk and treasurer. “We’re in a waiting game.”
Bolton, with 1,301 people and a $1.7 million annual budget, continues to await reimbursement for road damage totaling $300,000 in 2023 and $3 million in 2024.
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“The 2024 flooding destroyed pretty much everything we had repaired in 2023,” said Michael Webber, Bolton’s town clerk and treasurer. “In a good year, you never knew how long FEMA would take. Who knows what’s going to happen now?”
To date, FEMA has awarded Vermont more than $100 million for 2023 flooding and $10 million for 2024 damage, its website reports. But the agency won’t provide specifics about individual municipalities “for privacy reasons” and adds only that reimbursement timelines “will vary by weeks or months” depending on the complexity of an application, according to a statement.
Trump doesn’t have the authority to end FEMA, as such a move would require congressional action. Presidential threats aside, Lyndon is one of several Vermont communities still receiving weekly check-ins from agency officials — a fact some local leaders view as a good sign.
“My assumption,” Dwyer said, “is if there wasn’t going to be any money, we wouldn’t have to do any of this paperwork.”
Others aren’t so sure. Middlesex, population 1,779, has a $1.8 million annual budget, yet about $7 million in debt from 2023 and 2024 flooding, said Town Clerk Sarah Strohmeyer Merriman, who is retiring in March after 12 years.
“All of the above is why,” Merriman said of her departure. “We’ve been reassured from FEMA time and time again we’re done, only to get an email with more questions. Now we’re worried we can’t count on that money ever coming through.”
That sentiment can be heard statewide. Cavendish, population 1,392, had approved an annual municipal budget of about $2 million when the July 2023 storm caused an equal amount of damage. A year and a half later, the town has received only about $400,000 in FEMA funds for debris cleanup and emergency spending, with reimbursement for everything else — including $82,000 in loan interest that’s eligible for federal repayment — still outstanding.
“They send back requests for more details and documentation,” said Diane McNamara, Cavendish’s town clerk and treasurer. “People think the flood is over, but for those of us who are dealing with the paperwork, it’s not.”
Barnet, population 1,663, reports about $2.7 million in 2024 damage — a figure slightly higher than its annual budget — and a resulting $1.5 million line of credit.
“We may have to borrow more,” said Benjamin Heisholt, Barnet’s town clerk and treasurer.
Nearby St Johnsbury, population 7,364, has calculated that road damage from last year’s storms almost equals its annual $3.9 million in highway spending. Still awaiting FEMA money, leaders have juggled regular incoming revenue so as to limit borrowing to $1 million from a $4 million line of credit, said Stacy Jewell, town clerk and treasurer.
Bridgewater, with 903 people and a $1.5 million annual budget, reports FEMA has reimbursed about half of some $6 million in 2023 damage. The town is set to vote March 4 on a plan to refinance existing loans “to seek a lower interest rate to save the town monies while awaiting funds,” its ballot states.
“I do feel optimistic,” Bridgewater Treasurer Melissa Spear said. “We’re beginning to see some money come in.”
Back in Lyndon, local leaders are preparing to hold Town Meeting voting in the municipal office building that flooded last summer. Dwyer notes there’s still a crack in the floor from water damage, so she’ll cordon it off “just so nobody can stumble.”
“We are small peanuts, but that’s a lot of money for a little town,” the clerk said in a community with a $15 million line of credit. “We are definitely gun-shy about this July. Heavens to Betsy if something happens again.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Flooding long past, many Vermont municipalities are still swimming in red ink.