By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – Erie County officials and lawmakers trying to collect efficiency grant dollars available through the state will have to go back and sharpen their pencils. Three applications were stalled by the Fiscal Stability Authority last week.
News that the state would give Erie County roughly $18 million just to become more efficient was music to the ears of county officials and lawmakers. Many said there was no shortage of ideas to run more efficiently and save money.
And now they anticipated having the funds needed to put those plans in action.
But the control board has sent back virtually every proposal.
So far, three applications were approved totally roughly one million dollars. On Friday, the board sent back three more proposals that finance committee chairman Joseph Goodell called "noble."
The board said it needs to see more evidence of savings and, in one case, assurances that the county will pay for programs after they are off the ground.
One application seeks a half million dollars to revamp the budget accounting system to comply with the recently approved charter revision requirements.
Ken Vetter is Executive Director for the Fiscal Stability authority. He said they need to see where savings would come in, before spending $500,000 of state taxpayer dollars.
But county officials argue that increased transparency and accountability in the budget would allow lawmakers to see and expose hidden waste.
The Department of Social Services presented an integrated case management proposal it said can easily save $1.5 million the first year alone.
Commissioner Michael Weiner said the risk is in not implementing the solution.
The Control Board said it would prefer to see a smaller scale project, perhaps between only two offices, so that savings could be evaluated before making a full $4.4 million dollar investment.
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