By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Members of the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority questioned Mayor Masiello and his finance commissioner at length Wednesday about a four-year fiscal recovery plan. Several members were highly critical of the plan.
Mayor Masiello played duel roles at the control board meeting. First, acting as a board member, then joining Finance Commissioner James Millroy to answer questions and listen to criticism about the city's financial plan.
Board member John Faso basically told Masiello to go back and re-work the plan. He says asking for a share of Erie County's extra one-percent sales tax is not the answer.
"There's no way that this plan passes the smell test of having reasonable assumptions and estimates, particularly in this current year, because you're counting on revenue that you don't know is going to come," Faso said.
Faso was highly critical of the Mayor's plan that would pay stipends to fire fighters to work as housing inspectors.
"Why did you willing embrace hiring more people who have certain benefits, arbitration, protections and disability benefits that are impossible for you to manage?" Faso asked.
"John, I would agree with you if we were hiring more people," the mayor responded. "We're not hiring more people."
Board member Alair Townsend was critical of the lack of job reductions, saying the city needs to take more aggressive action to "bring down the head count" at City Hall.
"You could argue that our children will be paying down the road for sacrifices we are unwilling as adults to make today," Townsend said.
But James Millroy says the City is already running a "bare bones" operation. Millroy pleaded with the Authority to act as an advocate in convincing the county to share the extra one-percent and fight for pension reform. But board member and former state comptroller Carl McCall says that's not the job of this control board.
"Albany didn't do a lot for Buffalo when it created this board," McCall said. "It simply sent some people here who could borrow some money and give it to you if that's what you want to do. But the help that you ask for isn't available here."
McCall says the only help the authority can offer is to bring discipline to the city budget process or borrow additional cash.