Republican caucus fights to pay down debt; take burden off taxpayers
Republican lawmakers in the Erie County Legislature reached an agreement with their Democrat colleagues and the County Executive to resume the county’s capital projects program in a way that will save taxpayers millions of dollars over the life of the projects. This came after Legislature Republicans grew increasingly concerned about the growing number of projects that were never completed after the county had already borrowed for them.
“The agreement reached is a win for everyone,” said Erie County Legislator and Minority Leader John Mills. “We are going to pay for a number of things in cash from surplus dollars. This means we aren’t going to keep running up the tab on money Erie County borrows to pay for projects that don’t get done.”
Republican legislators sounded the alarm because work had not yet even begun on several previously approved projects for which the Administration borrowed money to complete. That prompted the Republican Caucus to request six years of data showing the progress of all outstanding projects. The Administration refused their request, and only provided three years of project history. In just those three years, data showed that more than $60 million in approved projects, paid for with both cash and bonded funds, were either not completed or had not even been started. Republican Legislators were reluctant to add to that tab and approve $44 million more in new projects when taxpayers were already paying interest on borrowed money on previously approved work that wasn’t getting done.
“We first wanted answers as to why those projects were incomplete when millions of dollars in interest payments were already expended on them. Negotiating a plan that would allow us to limit the amount of money we borrow puts Erie County in a better position financially moving forward,” said Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro.
Today, legislators moved forward with an amended bond resolution they negotiated that eases the burden on taxpayers. The resolution and additional negotiations resulted in:
- Reduces overall 2023 borrowing by $6.6 million in the bond resolution itself, by converting projects to cash
- Erie County will pay off $9.5 million in existing bonds to the old Bills stadium using cash
- We will reduce Erie County’s debt obligation to the new Bills stadium by $25 million
- By paying $25 million more in cash toward the stadium from Erie County’s 2022 surplus, taxpayers save more than $16 million in interest payments over the life of the bonds
- This brings the total decrease to the amount Erie County must borrow for the stadium to $50 million over two years, which saves $32 million in interest over the life of the loan.
- Erie County has now appropriated $125 million of the $250 million Erie County agreed to pay for the new stadium, saving taxpayers more than $80 million over the life of the loan by utilizing available cash surplus instead of borrowing
- $1.1 million will be invested in the community equally spread throughout legislative districts
- Phase 1 of reconstruction work will finally get underway for New Road in Amherst
- Erie County will begin the process to study and reconstruct William Street in Lancaster, solving a complicated traffic problem for residents
- The Administration must, by legislative resolution, provide monthly progress reports on the status of approved capital projects.
“Going forward we want to have more transparency about the status of already approved projects. It gives us a better handle on how much we are willing to borrow for future projects. By having monthly reports on the progress of those projects we can make more informed decisions,” said Erie County Legislator Chris Greene.
“We need that data to ensure we aren’t putting unnecessary charges on the taxpayer’s credit card in the future,” said Erie County Legislator Jim Malczewski. “We are picking up part of the tab in cash and that improves Erie County’s future financial outlook.”
“We are borrowing less, which means Erie County is paying less in interest. We’re using surplus to pay some of our bills which means our children and grandchildren won’t be paying some of the cost of these projects for decades to come. Meanwhile, we’re getting much needed infrastructure projects completed and addressing real needs in our communities. I’m glad the Administration came to the table and recognized our concerns. We’re being responsible with taxpayer dollars. This is how government is supposed to work,” said Minority Leader Mills.