<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Niagara County has been asked by the state Comptroller’s Office to justify its use of casino dollars in support of a lawsuit against the New York Power Authority.
County Attorney Claude Jeorg told members of the Legislature’s Administration Committee on Tuesday he recently received a telephone call from a representative of the Comptroller’s Office asking him to explain the thinking behind the county’s decision to use casino money to support a legal fight against the authority.
Jeorg said he offered the same justification used by members of the Republican-led Majority when they moved to file the lawsuit in May.
“My response, which is contained in this resolution, is that low-cost power and the cost of power is what drives business in Niagara County and when the power authority does things that increases the rates on consumers and businesses it makes it a very hostile economic environment and that the success of this litigation will definitely promote economic development in Niagara County,” Jeorg said.
The lawsuit aims to reverse what county officials contend was the illegal transfer of more than $500 million in surplus authority revenue into the state’s general fund. It also seeks to force the authority to return a portion of the revenue to consumers in the county in the form of electric rebates. Legal costs are being covered by a portion of the county’s casino cash share, which, by law, is to be used for economic development purposes.
The resolution referenced by Jeorg authorized the use of casino money to cover a payment of $68,382 to Webster Szanyi, the Buffalo law firm that is representing the county in the case. The resolution was approved by the committee during Tuesday’s meeting and will be forwarded for consideration by the full Legislature.
In July, the Legislature agreed to make an initial payment to Webster Szanyi of $94,123. At that time, Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso, D-Niagara Falls, asked state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office for an opinion on the legality of using casino funds to support the lawsuit. Virtuoso and fellow Falls Democrat Jason Cafarella were the only two lawmakers to vote against the initial payment.
Another Falls Democrat Renae Kimble, who supports the lawsuit and has been highly critical of authority operations for years, asked Jeorg if he thought the call from the Comptroller’s Office had anything to do with the status of the case itself. State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Boniello III denied a motion by the authority’s lawyers to have it moved to another venue. In October, he heard arguments from both sides on the merit of a request from the authority’s legal team to have the case dismissed. Boniello has reserved decision on the matter.
“This is very interesting in light of the fact that they lost the first round,” Kimble said, referring to the authority’s unsuccessful change of venue request.
“I can’t read between the lines, but I’m sure you can,” Jeorg replied.
