04/16/09 06:52 AM
By Matthew Spina
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The ideological rift continues. But Erie County has turned a corner.

The check for the new refrigerator will soon be in the mail.

Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz still says County Executive Chris Collins never should have expected taxpayers to cover the refrigerator for his staff office. But by withholding payment, Rosa’s Home Store would become the victim, says Poloncarz, who pays the county’s bills.

So he will send the company its $416 and has asked Collins and his staff to reimburse the county’s general fund. That way, the county executive’s team will be treated like the other county employees who have paid for their own break-room appliances over the years, Poloncarz said.

Poloncarz should not hold his breath. “We maintain that this was the replacement of county property in a county facility,” Grant Loomis, Collins’ spokesman, said, “and we think it is an appropriate expenditure of tax dollars.”

Collins’ staff bought the new refrigerator— a 15-cubic-foot Frigidaire—after the old one died, and they expected the comptroller’s office to pay the bill. The comptroller’s staff refused, citing a policy that lets the government pay only for items that directly involve county services.

The cold war intensified. The Collins team barred Poloncarz’s two deputy comptrollers from parking in the garage under the Rath County Office Building.

After Collins and Poloncarz exchanged unpleasant words over the phone, Poloncarz unleashed his auditors on a review of the county’s parking operations.

This week, Poloncarz relented on the refrigerator — just this once, he insisted. But he said he’s disappointed Collins and his staff won’t now reimburse the government for the fridge.

Erie County’s elected leaders have sparred over weightier matters. But this one displayed the tense personal, philosophical and political rivalry between Collins and Poloncarz.

“I guess Mr. Collins wants to be held to a different standard than other county workers,” Poloncarz said. “It’s not so much the dollar amount. It’s the principle.”