The calendar and a stronger sense of storm preparedness will help soften the blow of this winter's first major Northeast blizzard, capital markets observers said Tuesday.
"My experience tells me that this just will not have a negative impact on municipal credit. The effect on local governments typically is not especially bad, certainly not as bad as Hurricane Sandy, for instance," said Alan Schankel, a managing director at Janney Capital Markets in Philadelphia. "The normal state and local aid mechanisms usually kick in, and that prevents tax-base erosion."
Winter Storm Juno dropped up to three feet of snow in some parts of Massachusetts and eastern Long Island's Suffolk County. Public officials throughout the Northeast still say it's too soon to pinpoint storm costs. In Massachusetts, Scituate and Marshfield, along Boston's South Shore, experienced seawall breaches and massive flooding.
"They're used to getting slammed," said Anthony Figliola, vice president at Empire Government Strategies in Uniondale, N.Y. "Massachusetts has very creative ways of managing and mixing rock salt, which Long Island has begun to develop. They really set the standard."
Figliola said states and cities have some financial cushion, given the storm's arrival early in the winter budgeting process. "I don't see any impact on municipal credit, unless you see a couple of more megastorms like this one," he said.
Before the storm hit, several states and New York City imposed travel bans. In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority closed subway service to the public.
"The political leaders certainly responded ahead of the storm," said Schankel. "I saw the new governor in Massachusetts [Charlie Baker] and Gina [Rhode Island Gov. Raimondo] out there. From a P.R. standpoint, they were saying 'get the hell off the roads.' "
The long-term financial impact to New York City from the blizzard was "limited and transitory," Comptroller Scott Stringer said Tuesday morning. The city last year spent $130 million on snow removal. "We always budget for snow," he said.
"I don't think you can categorize it as a long-term loss," said Stringer. "People in retail or restaurants lost a shift at work, but they'll make it up at some point."
According to Schankel, hardest-hit areas - Scituate, for instance - may be in store for more federal assistance.
"There are benefits to the economy as they rebuild and sometimes there's actually a bump in employment," he said. "There was damage in southeastern Massachusetts and a place like Scituate will get aid and things, and in the spring and summer you'll see a positive effect."
New London, Conn., Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said he would welcome federal aid.
"It's early in the winter and our budget is in good shape and our salt supply is in good shape, so we have a lot of supplies," he said. "But after another couple of storms we'll be in trouble, so any federal aid would be appreciated."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Suffolk County is receiving 500 pieces of snow-removal equipment from New York City and the Mid-Hudson Valley. Bridgeport, Conn., sent four snow trucks to New London.
Figliola said the stinging memory of a February 2013 snow-removal fiasco prompted Suffolk County officials to prepare better.
"I will say anecdotally that there was a higher state of alert," he said. "It's an election year this year for local governments and they know voters will react to this. Shutting down the highways was the alternative to hundreds upon hundreds of cars stranded on the LIE [Long Island Expressway] for days. People remember that nightmare."
