The New York Power Authority has hired a recently resigned board member to a $77,500-a-

year part-time job working out of its Buffalo office, a move sharply criticized by the

chairman of the Senate's Energy Committee.

Elise Cusack, whose nearly five-year unpaid tenure on the board was marked by a stretch of

excessive absences, started Monday as a community liaison who will focus on the development of

CanalSide. No other job candidates were considered for the position.

"I am very comfortable with this," said Richard Kessel, president of the New York Power

Authority.

He said the job evolved from discussions he has had with Cusack over the past year, after

she expressed an interest in stepping down from the Power Authority board.

"I suggested to her that maybe she'd want to come work for us," Kessel said.

Outrages & Insights blog: Cusack appointment an inside job

Related: Cusack's Power Authority questioned in 2008

Cusack's term expired last May, but she stayed on until resigning effective March 1. Four

weeks later, she started her job, working out of the authority's new satellite office in

Buffalo on Perry Street. Her resignation leaves the seven-member board with three vacancies.

Cusack, according to a news release announcing her appointment, "will be responsible for

advising, planning and coordinating communications efforts on behalf of the Power Authority

with local officials and community groups."

In an interview, Cusack said "the major focus will be on waterfront development. Who in

Western New York doesn't want to see waterfront development, sooner rather than later?"

In addition to working on CanalSide &— which the authority is helping to fund, but in which

it otherwise plays no hands-on role — Cusack will be involved in other authority initiatives

in the region, including a solar power project at the University at Buffalo.

While Kessel acknowledged no one else was considered for the position, "we didn't give her

a job to give her a job." Rather, she was hired for her credentials, he said.

"I feel Elise is perfect for the job. I think I'm getting someone who is a very talented

person, extremely intelligent, who knows the issues," Kessel said.

What about paying her $77,500 for a part-time job?

"I think the salary is justifiable," Kessel said, noting that she'll work 30 hours a week.

State Sen. George Maziarz was incredulous over the appointment.

"Seventy-seven-thousand, five-hundred dollars a year? Part time? It's outrageous," said the

Newfane Republican who heads the Senate Energy Committee.

Cusack termed the criticism "unfortunate.

"I would guess it [the salary] is on par with a lot of jobs out there [for people] trying

to do great things for Western New York," she said.

Maziarz questioned the need for the hire, noting the state's hiring freeze, from which the

authority is technically exempt.

"How many people are already on the authority's payroll? They need more people?" Maziarz

asked.

The hiring is that much more troubling because of the state's $9 billion deficit, he added.

"It just goes to show the Power Authority's arrogance of the taxpaying public," he said.

Cusack, 41, was appointed to the authority's governing board in May 2005. In 2007, she

attended only two of 19 board and committee meetings in person. She was excused from two

others and attended the balance through video-conferencing technology. She said the demands of

raising four young children precuded her from attending more meetings. Several elected

officials criticized her attendance record, saying as the region's lone representative on the

board at the time, it was important that she attend in person.

Kessel praised Cusack as an "excellent" board member. She maintained a low-profile on the

board, however. She made few public comments outside of board meetings and did not initiate

any significant board actions.

During her tenure, the authority came in for strong criticism for exploiting Western New

York, parlaying the waters of the Niagara River to generate huge profits at its hydropower

plant in Lewiston while sharing none of the proceeds with the region. Under pressure from Rep.

Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, the authority has invested more money in the region the past year,

although Kessel has yet to follow through on his promise to increase spending in Niagara

County to promote economic development.

Cusack and her husband are active in Republican circles. She represented portions of

Amherst, Cheektowaga and the Town of Tonawanda in the Erie County Legislature from 2002 to

2005.