Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz today issued the following statement calling on the Legislature’s GOP minority caucus to approve the county’s bond resolution, which they had previously supported, at their next legislative session. Without the resolution’s approval several large infrastructure projects will be delayed or outright cancelled.
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said, “Last week, three GOP minority legislature members (Chris Greene, Frank Todaro, and Lindsey Lorigo) voted against a resolution authorizing the county to issue bonds for thirty important infrastructure projects. John Mills was not present. If just one member of the minority had voted yes the resolution would have passed because all the majority democratic members voted for it.
What makes their no votes shocking is Legislators Greene and Todaro, as well as Mills, voted for the bonding package as part of the 2024 budget process (Legislator Lorigo wasn't seated until January 1).
Nothing changed from what they approved last year. No projects were added to increase the borrowing. The cost of the borrowing is the same as it was last year. Until the vote it appeared the resolution would pass with unanimous support.
There can be no other reason to reject the resolution other than to prevent the county from moving forward with needed projects, including important road and bridge projects. It's nothing more than the same type of obstructionist action you see from the GOP on the national level and now in Cheektowaga where the GOP members also killed the town’s proposed bond resolution last week.
If the resolution is not approved at next Thursday’s legislative session it is doubtful important road projects for New Road in East Amherst, a project Legislator Greene supports, and Borden Road in Cheektowaga can begin this year because of key timing issues related to these big projects, such as fabricating storm sewer catch basins. If the resolution is not approved, other important projects will have to be cancelled because the county will not have the money to pay for them.
I call on all minority legislators to stop playing games with the important work we must do and vote yes, just like they did when they approved the projects last December. Our constituents deserve nothing less.”
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