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Sep 30

2024

Unpacking Byron Brown’s move to OTB

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Byron Brown is as good as gone from City Hall.  It’s good for the city, given his nearly 19-year reign of error. Mayor-in waiting Chris Scanlon is an unproven commodity, but he’s got to be an improvement. But Brown getting a raise to take command of the troubled OTB certainly doesn’t represent good government. Here’s my take: Brown is making the move, as reported by J. Dale Shoemaker, for a couple of reasons, starting with money. The mayor is getting a huge bump in salary, from $178,518 to $295,000 next year and the possibility of still more in 2026 and[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 27

2024

More newsroom cuts at The Buffalo News

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Lee Enterprises is taking another bite out of the newsroom of The Buffalo News.  A big bite. Sources tell me Lee has mandated that 10 jobs be cut from a newsroom that has an estimated 55 positions. Five of the cuts will come via either buyouts or layoffs. In addition, five vacant positions will be eliminated altogether. We’re talking downsizing approaching 20 percent, in one fell swoop. And it’s not just a loss of bodies, which translates into less coverage of our communities, but the loss of institutional knowledge when veterans walk out the door. Keep in mind that peak[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 26

2024

Brown offered $295,000 to head OTB

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Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Photo by WKBW. This story was updated at 1:58 p.m. Directors of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. today voted to offer Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown a $295,000 salary to be the agency’s new president and CEO. OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett characterized the contract offered to Brown as an “annual” agreement with “incentives” to be negotiated in a second and third year. Bassett refused to say what those incentives are worth or provide any other details of the 18-page employment contract, calling the decision “my choice.” Two attorneys versed in the state’s Freedom of Information Law told[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 24

2024

Brown poised to be the state’s top-paid OTB exec

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Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Photo by Garrett Looker. This story was updated Sept. 25 at 4:07 p.m. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stands to be the highest-paid OTB executive in New York should he accept the offer to be Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.’s new president and CEO. OTB’s personnel committee approved the terms of a contract during a two-hour closed-door session Wednesday afternoon. Board members would not disclose the terms of the offer, including salary and start date. The full board is expected to vote on the contract offer to Brown on Thursday, at which time officials said they would[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 23

2024

City must pay $310,000 to former employee

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The City of Buffalo’s law department last week asked the Common Council to approve a $310,000 settlement to a lawsuit filed by James Kaufmann, who worked 23 years for the police department’s information technology unit before the city eliminated his position 14 years ago. The elimination of his job was retaliation, Kaufmann claimed in his lawsuit. And the city violated state civil service law by not hiring him for another, similar post in the years that followed. According to the lawsuit, city officials said they’d “get even” with Kaufmann for testifying in a 2005 arbitration hearing that led to the[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 20

2024

Report faults Erie County auditor’s record as Evans town supervisor

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A state audit of payroll practices at the Town of Evans found sloppy bookkeeping and improper payments to a former town supervisor who is now a top lieutenant of Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick. Mary Hosler, deputy comptroller in charge of audits for Erie County, oversaw a blockbuster investigation of the Erie County Clerk’s office, released in February, that uncovered thousands of missing dollars and led to a deputy clerk pleading guilty to embezzling more than $320,000 in public funds. But before she took that job two years ago, Hosler paid herself $6,000 she was not entitled to while serving[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 19

2024

Developer Doug Jemal, back in the news

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An advertisement featuring Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen hangs on the side of the Statler Hotel. Photo by Garrett Looker. Developer Doug Jemal is in the news this week over his company’s installation of a huge ad posted on the side of the Statler Hotel in the heart of downtown Buffalo. Jemal’s company didn’t obtain the necessary permit for the 11-story ad, featuring the likeness of Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Jemal is unapologetic, telling The Buffalo News that installing the ad was the “right thing to do.” Jemal, known for sometimes playing by his own rules, was the subject of[...]

Posted 7 months ago

Sep 19

2024

OTB may vote on Brown contract next week

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The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is expected to discuss — if not vote on — an employment contract for Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown at its board of directors meeting next week. Reporter J. Dale Shoemaker appeared on WCNY’s Capitol Pressroom to explain the latest. The Capitol Pressroom · Western NY OTB in period of transition The board, at a special meeting two weeks ago, offered Brown the OTB president and CEO job. He would replace Henry Wojtaszek, who has led the agency since 2016. Wojtaszek this summer announced plans to accept a $299,000 buyout and step down at the[...]

Posted 7 months ago
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