Hamburg Town Board members Monday night decided to create a new nonprofit corporation to help finance improvements at Hilbert College.

It’s the same type of financing that the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency has done in the past for the college. But the legal authority for IDAs to issue bonds for that type of civic project expired at the beginning of 2008, and the State Legislature has not renewed the authority.

Michael Bartlett, executive director of the Hamburg IDA, and the IDA board of directors will serve in the same capacity for the new corporation, Supervisor Steven J. Walters said.

“We will have a vehicle that can issue tax-exempt bonds to help civic authorities — in our case, Hilbert College,” Bartlett said.

He said the new corporation will help the college refinance the construction of dormitories.

“In the short term, Hilbert would like to refinance some of the debt they have,” he said. “For us to be able to help them, we have to have this.”

Other communities have taken similar action. Amherst rebuilt its Amherst Development Corp. to back the issuance of tax-free bonds for student dormitories at the University at Buffalo’s North Campus.

“It’s not like we’re doing something that is unique in the area,” Bartlett said, adding, “We hate to have to do it this way.”

Also, the board tabled a proposal by Democrats Jonathan Gorman and Joseph Collins to reduce the pay of the four board members and town supervisor by 10 percent. Residents at the board’s last meeting criticized the two for pledging in their campaigns they would reduce their pay but not yet having done it.

Walters was angry the two brought the proposal to the floor.

“I, for one, find the resolution appalling, for lack of a better word,” he said. “These folks obviously don’t want to keep their campaign promise.”

Four board members voted in favor of tabling the measure, while Walters voted against it, saying he would rather have voted against the resolution itself.