State Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle says New York State probably can’t give any direct aid to individual property owners affected by flooding from the record-high waters of Lake Ontario. But he says they can and will come up with aid for local governments so parks, roads and other damaged infrastructure can be fixed without raising local property taxes.
The Irondequoit Democrat says that could be done through the much-maligned 
“member items” which give members access to a pool of money for local projects. Its use has been greatly reduced over the past five years after complaints over pork barrel spending.
the bill now being pushed through the state legislature by a bipartisan coalition of Rochester-area lawmakers that got homeowners excited is actually intended to aid local governments. It will tap into funds included in the state budget for modernizing aging public water systems to help protect local water and sewer systems from flood contamination, faster than current state law allows.
The law doesn’t allow anything similar to help individual property owners. Morelle says the state will help them process their claims on their insurance companies and any aid they may qualify for. But money for individuals whose homes are lost or damaged comes only after a joint state and federal disaster declaration, and the Lake Ontario situation isn’t enough of a disaster to qualify.
Assemblyman Morelle says what people along the southern shore of Lake Ontario really need is something no government can give them: sunshine and falling water levels.