By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The clock is ticking on the summer construction season as county officials continue to haggle over details of financing some much needed road repair.
County Executive Joel Giambra insists the road projects are not in jeopardy. Giambra Wednesday proclaimed the repairs would get done before the fall. But he was less adamant about from where or when money would come to do the work.
Cooperation between county officials and the Erie County Fiscal Stability authority is the sticking point.
And the county's fiscal watchdog Mark Polonacarz is in the middle of the political tug of war over borrowing.
He said the Giambra Administration is pushing him to advance at least five million dollars to get repairs started.
Meanwhile, the control board said it could do the borrowing cheaper. Poloncarz said he is not advancing any money until the struggle is settled and he is sure borrowing will be approved.
The control board says that question can be answered as soon as it reviews details of the proposed borrowing. Ken Vetter is Executive Director for the control board. Vetter said they have asked for the information so they can compare who can get the better deal.
Polonacarz said he is preparing that information for the control board. He also expects bids to have request for prooposals ready to send out in the next day or two, with bids expected back in a couple weeks. Vetter said they can also make their assessment quickly.
But timing isn't the only problem.
County officials and the control board have a history of locking heads over bonding. In fact, Polonacarz said proceeds from the tax lien sale rejected by the control board could have alleviated the current problem.
But Vetter said the same argument could be made about the delayed capital bond. He said that because lawmakers waited so long to act, tens of thousands of dollars in interest was lost.
For now, however, the question remains, how much more will be wasted as the condition of roads worsen?
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