Paterson to veto bills that would weaken control boards
Rejects measures to shift more clout to city, county
Separate state-appointed control boards have a constant grip on City Hall and Erie County government.
Gov. David A. Paterson says that will not change.
Visiting Buffalo, Paterson said Wednesday he will veto two bills: one an attempt to reduce the city’s control board to “advisory” status and the other to let county leaders borrow money without their control board’s approval.
Bipartisan majorities in Albany approved the requests of the Common Council and the Erie County Legislature.
But, citing economic hardships facing the state and local governments, Paterson said keeping both boards in authority remains the best option.
“I think the control boards have been effective,” he told The Buffalo News Editorial Board on Wednesday morning before embarking on his public events.
“I think the control boards should continue,” he said, promising to veto both bills.
While the legislation would not have disbanded either board, the city’s would have lost much of its power.
The city board, known as the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, has operated in a control phase since it was established in 2003, freezing wages and angering thousands of unionized workers.
More recently, Mayor Byron W. Brown and the Common Council have argued that the control board now can back off. Buffalo has turned the corner on its financial issues, they say, even if the city balances budgets with increasing amounts of state aid.
Brown and Paterson were chummy in their State Senate days, and some officials theorized the governor would be willing to weaken the authority of the city’s board, even though Eliot L. Spitzer, his predecessor, would not.
“I’m disappointed,” Brown said later Wednesday. “I think we have made the case that Buffalo is being well-managed fiscally. But I respect the governor’s process and his decision.”
Bertha H. Mitchell, the city board’s executive director, said she was pleased with the governor’s statement.
“It’s a good thing we can put this issue behind us and move forward with our business, which is the taxpayers’ business,” she said.
The unions, however, have lobbied to weaken the city control board almost since the state established it.
Michael F. Drennen, who represents nearly 500 white-collar workers, said the matter might land in court once again.
“It’s very disappointing that he has taken this wrong view of the situation,” Drennen said of Paterson. “If nothing else, it’s going to lead to legal action. This thing will be settled in the courts instead of the governor’s office.”
The county’s board, which began as an “advisory” panel before upgrading its own powers, has clashed not only with the county’s unions, but also with the elected leaders who manage the finances: the County Legislature, comptroller and county executive, first Joel A. Giambra and now Chris Collins.
Since early last year, the board, known as the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority, has demanded it take over as county government’s borrowing agent, saying its superior credit rating would result in better terms.
The elected officials have steadfastly refused because they don’t want the board to remain in operation for 30 years just to repay a long-term loan. The standoff has prevented the county from borrowing the millions of dollars needed for ongoing improvements to roads, bridges and county-owned structures.
Some projects have only inched along, financed with cash on hand in hopes that millions more could be borrowed, someday.
County leaders and the control board put together a wobbly compromise that involved borrowing money for a year and putting the root of their dispute on hold until next year. But then the Legislature, Collins and Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz pushed the state bill to let them borrow as they wish as long as they maintain investment-grade credit.
Anthony J. Baynes had vowed to resign as control board chairman if Paterson signed it. So he welcomed the governor’s decision Wednesday.
“I think he understands the control board has a great bond rating and should be doing the borrowing,” Baynes said. “The governor is looking out for the best interest of the taxpayers and citizens of Erie County. I applaud him for his thinking.”
Can they all go back to their compromise, or will the control board demand that it now take out a 30-year loan?
Baynes said the full control board will have to discuss that since, in his opinion, county leaders reneged.
Both Poloncarz and Legislature Chairwoman Lynn M. Marinelli, D-Town of Tonawanda, said a Paterson veto will create more confusion.
“If he does decide to veto it,” Poloncarz said, “it would be disappointing and leave many questions still in the air and put at risk a number of the projects that had been planned to be done this year.”
A spokesman for Collins, who is vacationing, said he never will let the control board borrow long term.
“The governor’s action is yet another example of Albany ignoring the people of Erie County and forcing another shortsighted decision upon us,” his office said in a statement. “By vetoing this legislation, the governor is jeopardizing the county’s capital projects, which have not been funded since 2006.”
News Staff Reporter Phil Fairbanks contributed to this story.
mspina@buffnews.com and bmeyer@buffnews.com
