The head of Erie County’s control board is threatening to resign if county lawmakers succeed in limiting the borrowing powers of the state-appointed authority.
Control Board Chairman Anthony Baynes’ public ultimatum came just hours after the County Legislature voted 13-1 Friday to ask the state to let the county borrow money without control board approval as long it maintains investment-grade credit.
“If this becomes law and the governor doesn’t veto it, I’m resigning,” Baynes told The Buffalo News. “This is pure politics and nothing else.”
Baynes said he spoke with an aide to Gov. David A. Paterson earlier this week and informed him of his plans to resign unless Paterson vetoes the state legislation authorizing the change in powers.
If the bill becomes law, the control board could no longer block the county’s latest attempt to secure a loan for road and bridge repairs, roof replacements and, among other things, improvements at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
“We need to get these projects going,” Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli, a Town of Tonawanda Democrat, said Friday. “Things have been stuck for too long. This really needed to be done and the state recognizes that.”
The Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority, currently a six-member panel of businessmen and retired public officials, is insisting it secure the loan because it can save taxpayers money because of its superior credit rating.
“It’s wrong and unethical and shame on them for playing politics,” said Baynes.
The county’s elected leaders don’t want the control board borrowing money because that would mean the board would then exist for decades, at taxpayer expense, to repay the debt.
The county’s request asks state leaders to support two separate but identical bills — one in the Assembly, the other in the Senate.
The bills were introduced by Assemblyman Mark J. F. Schroeder, a Buffalo Democrat, and Sen. Dale M. Volker, a Depew Republican whose staff helped write the original law creating the control board.
“It’s fair to say that members of the Assembly and Senate are concerned that we could go two full years without any capital projects,” said Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz, who supports the change in control board powers.
The bill also has the backing of County Executive Chris Collins, which prompted Baynes to call Collins’ support “the move of a career politician.”
pfairbanks@buffnews.com
Copyright 2008 - The Buffalo News
