Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino is speaking out about the State of Emergency he declared on July 20, but publicly announced this past weekend. Speaking to BTPM News Monday, Restaino says the conditions he cited, which focused largely on the city's crumbling infrastructure, are not new, but that the City Council's failure to approve contracts before its August recess prompted the action.
"It's really a function of them not voting to allow these contractors to come in and do additional services for residents, and we needed to do something," he said. "The state executive law affords us the opportunity, in certain circumstances, to do it, and that's what precipitated it."
Restaino said the declaration allows his administration to move forward with those contracts under state executive law without the normal City Council approval process.
He says there was "no particular strategic timeline" in announcing the declaration to the public nearly a month after it had been declared. Instead, Restaino said officials were working through the steps they believed were required under state law, including filing the emergency orders and putting the grass-cutting and paving contracts in place.
He said the city also contacted the county manager and governor’s office as part of the process.
When asked specifically whether City Council members were notified during that period, Restaino said he had spoken with “a couple of council members.” He said the administration wanted the emergency orders, contracts and communications with the lowest responsible bidders in place before announcing what had been done.
Under New York Executive Law, a city’s proclamation of a local state of emergency and any local emergency orders must be filed within 72 hours, or as soon afterward as practicable, with the city clerk, county clerk, secretary of state and state Office of Emergency Management. The law separately requires local emergency orders to be published as soon as practicable in a newspaper of general circulation and transmitted to radio and television media.
Councilmember Bridgette Myles said in a statement Sunday the Council had sought more information before acting. Restaino disputes her characterization that the items were postponed. He says the votes simply failed.
“No vote’s a no vote. There was no motion to postpone. It was a motion to approve or not approve the contracts, and the contract did not get approved,” he said.
In an email sent Monday morning to the city administrator and acting city clerk and forwarded to BTPM News, Myles said she had “recently learned” that Niagara Falls had been operating under a state of emergency for approximately three and a half weeks.
“I was not previously aware of the July 20 emergency declaration,” Myles wrote.
She requested a certified copy of the declaration and any extensions, renewals or amendments, along with the final executed contracts, invoices and payments made under them and the funding source for each contract. Myles also requested minutes from the council’s July 29 meeting.
Myles raised additional questions about the contracts themselves. She wrote that her last understanding was that the company awarded one bid had an inactive LLC status and asked whether that issue had been resolved or whether the city had moved to the next successful bidder. She also requested an update on what she described as union-related disputes concerning work on the resurfacing project.
In response to an interview request, Myles declined to give an additional response at this time.
“I want to be careful to provide accurate information, particularly because I am still requesting documentation from the Administration regarding the declaration, contracts, payments, and actions taken under the State of Emergency,” Myles told BTPM News in an email.
As for the State of Emergency's duration, Restaino said the initial emergency declaration lasts 30 days and could be extended. He said grass-cutting work is underway and the administration will determine whether an extension is necessary as the work progresses.
