Barron’s qualifications, fiscal history seem sketchy
Michelle M. Barron, who played a central role in the funding and operation of the failed One Sunset restaurant, holds a high-ranking city job that calls for a college graduate.
But she’s a high school graduate who dropped out of Erie Community College and Buffalo State College.
Barron’s job involves making decisions on public finances.
But she’s had four liens filed against her for failure to pay her bills and has had her car registration suspended nine times—for a total of 188 days— since 2002, seven times for lapsed insurance and twice for failing to pay parking tickets.
Barron also has an order pending for the purchase of a $200,000 house built in a new inner-city subdivision that would involve a large grant from the city and a waiver from paying property taxes.
Barron, 42, was hired by the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. in 1995. She started as a secretary and worked her way up during the tenure of former Mayor Anthony M. Masiello.
She earns $76,323 as the agency’s vice president for neighborhood economic development. Her salary and benefits are paid with federal Community Development Block Grant Funds provided to combat poverty.
Public records show creditors have obtained four liens against her for not paying her bills, starting with a defaulted student loan that the state demanded payment on in 1994. More liens were filed in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
The four liens total $6,488, and she still owes $1,409 on one, public records show.
When asked about the liens, Barron said one might have involved a student loan, but she wasn’t sure.
What about the other liens and the multiple suspensions of her car registration?
“I don’t know. I’d have to look back at my records,” she said. “That’s my personal business. What’s the relevance?”
A job description for her current position, vice president for neighborhood economic development, calls for:
“Completion of the core curriculum of a bachelor’s level major in economics, business, finance, public administration planning, architecture or related fields; and five years of management and administrative experience in neighborhood economic development; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.”
The only degree Barron holds is a high school diploma from Riverside High School.
While the job description allows for “an equivalent combination of training and experience” in lieu of a degree and five years’ experience, Barron’s college studies at ECC and Buffalo State were not related to the curriculum listed in the job requirement.
Her resume filed with the city lists a concentration in “computer/data processing” at ECC and “human service” at Buffalo State. Officials at Buffalo State said Barron had no declared major and completed 21 credit hours— less than two semesters—while attending classes on and off from 1992 to 2007.
In terms of equivalent experience, Barron assumed management responsibilities with BERC only three years before her promotion into her present job, not the five mentioned in the job description.
BERC is overseeing the development of Sycamore Village, a small subdivision on Sycamore Street. Barron has placed an order for a house, but she said “the sale has not gone through” for reasons she did not explain.
The typical contract for market-rate buyers calls for a nearly $29,000 grant if they stay in the house for 10 years and property tax abatements for 10 years because the subdivision is located in an Empire Zone. Owners do not pay any property taxes the first seven years.
— James Heaney
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