Ranzenhofer Supports Renegotiation of the City/County Parks Agreement

A RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY LEGISLATORS WEINSTEIN, RANZENHOFER, MILLS & LOCKLEAR

Re: Renegotiation of City and County Parks Agreement

WHEREAS, On July 1, 2004 the County of Erie entered into two agreements, the Inter-municipal Cooperation Agreement for Operation, Management, and Improvement of City of Buffalo Parklands and a similar agreement with the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, and

WHEREAS, On August 16, 2006 the Erie County Comptroller's Office released an audit and review of the operating financial reports of the Erie County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry's City of Buffalo Parks Division, and

WHEREAS, the Comptroller's audit unearthed several problematic occurrences including the improper transfer of City employees to the County, poor management of utility bills, significant budget shortfalls, and the failure of the City of Buffalo to make timely contractual payments to the County of Erie, and

WHEREAS, the Comptroller's audit recalls that at the time the Legislature was considering the agreement for the operation of the City of Buffalo Parks System, documents submitted by the County Executive describing the plan stated that it "will not add net costs to the County's general operating fund, with County operating expenses totally offset by a combination of annual payments made by the City to the County (1.8 million annually for the first three years of the 15 year term and payments to be adjusted thereafter), park and recreation facility rents, fees and charges, and State youth and job training program funding," and

WHEREAS, the agreement did not meet expectation and in 2005 have cost the County $700,000 more than was budgeted for, with costs expected to rise, and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Erie County Legislature calls on the administration to renegotiate the Inter-Municipal Cooperation Agreement between the City of Buffalo and the County of Erie regarding the management of City Parks in a way that addresses the Comptroller's concerns involving the establishment of oversight committees, the timing of contractual payments to the County by the City, fuel usage and cost, utility bill management, delineating and clarifying each entity's respective responsibilities and obligations in a manner that resolves our responsibility to the agreement but does not exceed the budgeted and agreed cost, so that the County "breaks even," financially, in the application of this agreement, and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Legislature provide certified copies of this resolution to Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra, City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz, Members of the City of Buffalo Common Council, Erie County Parks Commissioner Angelo Sedita, City of Buffalo Parks Commissioner Dan Kreuz, and the CEO of the Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy Johnathan Holifield and Members of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority

Fiscal Impact: Positive for Erie County

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