The Genesee County Economic Development Center can generate a lot of money for itself, Legislator Ray Cianfrini said Wednesday, so he would like the county legislative body to start looking at how much this Industrial Development Agency gets from the county budget.
"I just think we should look very close at their budget and revenue," Cianfrini said. "I’m sensitive to the fact that we had to cut a lot of things out of the budget for nonprofits that do not generate revenues and they’re hurt by the fact that we cut them."
His comments followed a Ways and Means Committee meeting in which a resolution was approved authorizing the county to accept, on GCEDC's behalf, a $750,000 state grant to help bring a mushroom farm to the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
While Cianfrini was less direct about his concerns during the meeting, afterward, he said, yes, he does question bonuses being paid to GCEDC's executives while the county is providing $234,000 in supplemental funding to the agency.
"I personally received a lot of phone calls from constituents," Cianfrini said. "This riles them and they’re angry over the bonuses. I think that maybe that I, as a legislator, and we as legislative board, should be looking at GCEDC a little more closely and say, 'if you have the money to pay the bonuses, should we be funding you at the current level?' "
The bonus issue has been controversial for a year now, sparked by a state audit report that questioned the method of bonus disbursement, and it reignited a month ago when $120,000 in new bonuses were announced.
At the same time, the county has been forced to cut some programs, such as Meals on Wheels.
Cianfrini used the mushroom farm grant as an example of how GCEDC and its nonprofit Genesee Gateway Local Development Corp. generate significant profits.
With the $750,000, GCEDC will be able to sell the land for the mushroom farm and make a profit, make a loan and get the principle repaid plus interest, and collect a $16,000 fee for the operations expense of putting the deal together.
"This is a great moneymaker for the LDC," Cianfrini said. "And what do they put into it? Nothing. What are they going to get out of it? A lot.
"I just wanted people to understand how this works," Cianfrini added. "The state puts up the money. We dispurse it. They get to loan it out. They get income, they get revenue, they get operating expenses."
Cianfrini said the GCEDC executives are well compensated for what they do, but he's opposed to bonuses.
"If they continue to pay bonuses, then I’ll look at their funding and see if it's legtimate," Cianfrini said.
Hmmmm nice to see some
Hmmmm nice to see some comment on this but.... Whats not to see, we give them taxpayers money. Now we have seen the State auditors raise an eyebrow at whats going on with the bonus sitution, which we saw alot of rhetoric and justification from GCEDC. Then in a year they collect over 200,000.00 from us the county taxpayers they give themselves bonuses that eat up 120,000.00 of that. Not good business, not good financial sense and just not right all around. Especially the way Cifirianni explains the way they make profit. I called my legislator and the 2 others bordering my ward just to make my voice heard. Lets see if they actually do listen to us. I', doubtful it will happen but theres always hope.
I commend Mr Cianfrini and am
I commend Mr Cianfrini and am grateful their is one lone Legislator willing to speak out on an issue that an overwhelming number of citizens are outraged over. Maybe some of the others will follow suit.
Get 'em Ray!
Get 'em Ray!
What a surprise! We need more
What a surprise! We need more politician investigating things like this, rather than trying to line their own pockets. These people are bringing business to Batavia and Genesee County with what seems like the hope of cashing in themselves. And now that is what people who read these articles will think about every time there is a GCEDC story .... good or bad!
I agree .....I wrote to Steve
I agree .....I wrote to Steve Hawely on this,,,He feels that the bonuses are justified and the they are all doing a great job..So you won't get him to say anything bad about the issue...I wrote to Sen.Ransenoff..He said he has legislation to stop all bonuses for any public authority who's employees are in the state pension system which all in the GCEDC are..The county pays for them to be in the pension system.....So not only is Hyde making more than the Governor this year he will also be able to collect a state pension...Talk about a scam.....We have no say in what this agency does,who they give tax breaks to,but they then collect state pension.. Made up off taxpayer money...Good luck on this Ray...I never got a response from Ms.Hancock...She must be to busy worrying about all those unfunded mandates. ...Corp welfare at its finest....
"This is a great moneymaker for the LDC," Cianfrini said. "And what do they put into it? Nothing. What are they going to get out of it? A lot...Why shouldn't that money or profit go back to the county..I thought they are non profit....Scam....
"Cianfrini said the GCEDC
"Cianfrini said the GCEDC executives are well compensated for what they do, but he's opposed to bonuses."
So, now maybe we should demand the GCEDC to pay back the bonuses they received. Since, they are obviously taking advantage of their power. Hmmm, what was that bonus? Oh yeah, 72K! Now we know he received a substanial operations expense of putting the deal together.
Well Mark, I hope people
Well Mark, I hope people during the next election remember this. Obviously, MR Hawley needs to be removed as well.
Corp welfare's finest individuals....Hawley & Hyde. "Your taxes for my profit!" Sponsor by the Hawley & Hyde Corruption Bureau.
What a relief that someone is
What a relief that someone is finally explaining to the public what happens at the GCEDC! They say over and over that they are a "quasi-public" company. They receive support from tax revenues. They participate in the state retirement and benefit systems...and yet they award themselves huge bonuses for their work. If their work was as successful as they advertise it to be, maybe I wouldn't quibble about a few dollars in bonuses, but I don't see evidence that it is so successful and they aren't receiving just a few dollars. And, oh yes, didn't they, like all other public employees, trade their prospects for the huge bonuses available in the private sector for the security of government jobs, regular salary increases , very good benefits and a retirement pension? GCEDC executives should return or refuse the bonuses and the Genesee County Legislators should make them do it.
Well, we have the right to
Well, we have the right to start a petition and we have the right to ask MR. Hyde and MR. Hawley to step down from their positions. Whether or not it happens depends on the public and the support.
Well, we have the right to
Well, we have the right to start a petition and we have the right to ask MR. Hyde and MR. Hawley to step down from their positions. Whether or not it happens depends on the public and the support.
That will never happen.
We have had 2 elections since
We have had 2 elections since this abuse has come to light, and nothing changed.
John Roach wrote: We have had
John Roach wrote:
We have had 2 elections since this abuse has come to light, and nothing changed.
Thumbs up, John :)
A rare moment, indeed.
John, you know the
John, you know the saying.......'elections have consequences'. Guess what the consequences are when voters keep electing the same people? No oversight and no accountability. It then takes someone to step up and say the right thing, which Cianfrini did. Now we all have to wait and see if action is taken by the rest of the legislature.
Let's remember the Genesee IDA CEO"s salary is more than any other CEO in the entire state. That's staggering.
I'll bet you $10,000 bucks
I'll bet you $10,000 bucks nothing will change after the third election either.
:-)
Bea and John agree? I'm
Bea and John agree? I'm ready for the universe to be swallowed in a massive black hole caused by the paradox. :)
That why you will never have
That why you will never have change. Instead of planning a way to remove someone from office, you cry the same boring echo "Nothing will change!" Of course nothing will change when you sit on your arse. It is like winning a million dollars through the New York Lotto, it cannot happen if you do not play. Did you have before the elections, a Legislator acknowledge the wrong doings? Here you have Legislator Cianfrini acknowledging very questionable bonuses and instead of uses this, you whine! Everyone of you want your voice to be heard so, join together make them loud and clear. Or you can do the same old whining act about how things are corrupted.
John - I think that what's
John - I think that what's being referred to above is that in the last election there were 3 candidates running on a platform of holding the GCEDC accountable (John Deleo in Batavia and Jackie Whiting/Sid Horgan in LeRoy), none of them won lost despite voter outrage over this issue.
Exactly, Dan. John, you may
Exactly, Dan.
John, you may not be aware but some of us did get off our backsides. We walked petitions; we worked very hard to get our candidates out to meet and greet the voters during this past election season.
We are not whiners. We talk the talk and walk the walk.
Yet, in Genesee County, there is a comfort level about keeping the status quo. As someone once said, "paint a big red "R" on a cow, and the cow would win.".
Does that mean we don't keep trying? Of course not. It is difficult to find people to run against the status quo. When we do get candidates, they are fried and mocked on this board.
But still we try.
Whining? I think not.
So, you just stop trying? I
So, you just stop trying? I voted for the three candidates above. Yes, they failed to win. Now instead of focusing on their loss, focus on Legislator Cianfrini. Ensure that he see this investigation through and has it resolved. Who knows if, this seek more national attention. Getting the petition started is just the beginning.
If you voted for all three of
If you voted for all three of those candidates, you committed voter fraud.
Well, we have the right to
Well, we have the right to start a petition and we have the right to ask MR. Hyde and MR. Hawley to step down from their positions. Whether or not it happens depends on the public and the support.
"That will never happen."
John Roach wrote:
We have had 2 elections since this abuse has come to light, and nothing changed.
"Thumbs up, John
A rare moment, indeed."
"Does that mean we don't keep trying? Of course not. It is difficult to find people to run against the status quo. When we do get candidates, they are fried and mocked on this board.
But still we try.
Whining? I think not."
With all due respect ma'am, does not sound like you are still trying. Looks like whining.
Excuse me John. You wrote: "I
Excuse me John.
You wrote:
"I voted for the three candidates above. Yes, they failed to win. "
Please tell how you voted for all three candidates; one in Batavia and two in LeRoy.
I agree with Howard. If you did then you are guilty of voter fraud.
That said, there is little more one needs to discuss about our efforts to attract candidates. Except, the search in ongoing.
The one thing we don't need is someone who breaks the law when they vote.
.
Bea, My turn to agree with
Bea,
My turn to agree with you.
Mr. Woodworth, how did you vote for all three?
Did you commit fraud, or are you lying? This is a real simple question, how did you do it?
You're all missing the
You're all missing the obvious, Mr. Woodworth is clearly a dimensional traveler. He voted for John Deleo here, then entered a wormhole to Bizarro Genesee County where he voted for Jackie Whiting. He then repeated the procedure and went to Bizarro Bizzaro Genesee County and cast his vote for Sid Horgan.
The only strange thing about all of this is that in every iteration of Genesee County in all of these multiple universes, voters are more interested in maintaining a comfortable status quo than good government.
Also, in Bizzarro Bizzarro Genesee County, oranges are blue. Weird.
I love Bizzarro Genesee
I love Bizzarro Genesee County...the pizza doesn't give me heartburn there.
Bizzarro Genesee Co.! I
Bizzarro Genesee Co.! I love it.
OMG Chris thanks for solving
OMG Chris thanks for solving that mystery for me, I was wondering why there was a blue orange lookin thing in the back corner of my fridge, and why there was Ewok fur on my cat's food bowl.
Whew nothing to worry about now.
The silence is deafening,
The silence is deafening, John.
You have to like the fact
You have to like the fact that he does not live in either of the districts he said he voted in 3 times. So if he voted in his own, that's 4 votes. He should live in Chicago.
Guys, stop being so hard on
Guys, stop being so hard on Woodworth, he might be busy. He's probably on a weekend trip to Coruscant so he can cast his vote for Palpatine in the Intergalactic Emperor race.
It's likely he's not on duty
It's likely he's not on duty today at the AFB. As unbelievable as it may sound, some of us can get through a day (or longer) w/out the need to post here every few hours.
He did post on another
He did post on another thread. Just ignoring this one. Which is okay, I understand how busy it is to weave one's way in and out of those wormholes in Bizarro Genesee. Not to make light of the original topic...I think Ray was spot on with his comments. Let's hope the entire legislative body steps up and weighs in.
Ssssh, Kevin, trying to ruin
Ssssh, Kevin, trying to ruin my business :)
He must be from Texas, where
He must be from Texas, where as Barbara Bush noted, they 'vote early and vote often'.
If you are of the camp that
If you are of the camp that thinks GCEDC is doing a good job... then how do you reconcile this recent info?
Some positive job numbers for Buffalo Niagara and the Rochester region.
Rochester gained 9200 new private sector jobs over the last 12 month period ending in June. That's the second highest among the state's metro areas.
New Employment numbers show the Buffalo and Niagara areas gained 4300 jobs in the last year, almost a one percent annual growth rate.
Genesee County was not so fortunate. The figures show Genesee County lost jobs at a rate of point-8 percent annual rate.