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Buffalo , Erie County and the Niagara Falls Airport

Three items of interest, from three parts of the region, as we begin 2006:

In the City of Buffalo , Mayor Brown and his transition team have done an impressive job with several key positions in the new administration.  You've heard us say countless times that in order to facilitate economic development in Buffalo , City Hall especially must make salient improvements in the organizational delivery of its nuts and bolts development functions. An unacceptable "culture," outdated policies and inconsistent process have made it unnecessarily difficult to operate and expand a business in the city, and we have been pressing for years for a transparent and customer friendly atmosphere.  To that end, it is a very welcome sign that Rich Tobe has been tapped to direct economic development activities, including permitting and inspections.  Rich has a strong track record throughout the region, and has already met for hours with Partnership staff and volunteers in his new capacity on several important issues and projects.

The retention of the Director of the Office of Strategic Planning, Timothy Wanamaker, was also a deft choice worth special mention here, and will allow the city to seamlessly capitalize upon the momentum that has begun to simmer since his arrival.

On to Erie County: Though the administration and the legislature managed to complete a balanced budget at the end of 2005, recent events, such as the Erie County Medical Center Corporation settlement, highlight that the county's fiscal condition is still far from stable.  In short, Erie County 's financial crisis is not over.  Under the best-case scenario laid out by the county (that is, if all initiatives in the County's Four-Year Plan are implemented as planned - an outcome that is far from certain), structural gaps still remain in the coming fiscal years. The budget won't balance - to the tune of an alarming $40 million in 2007 alone.  Factoring in other significant uncertainties contained in the yet-to-be-implemented plan, this number could grow to as much as $71 million. 

Thus, we believe if the county is not both diligent and aggressive in pursuing reform, we likely will find ourselves in November in the same place we have been each of the last two years. There is much work to be done ? and done beginning now -- above and beyond that delineated in the Four-Year Plan and agreed to by both branches of county government and the county control board. Thankfully, other cost-saving opportunities exist.  The recommendations our volunteers outlined in ?A Plan for Moving? include millions-of-dollars in initiatives we placed before the legislature for its unilateral action to save county taxpayers further burdens in 2006.  We will continue to work with the county at all levels to ensure as many of these recommendations as possible are implemented, and implemented quickly. 

In Niagara County, my comments in a December 27 article in the Buffalo News about the Niagara Falls International Airport (NFIA) have been misinterpreted and thus have caused some angst there, and so I want to clarify the Partnership's position on that important regional project.

We believe in the redevelopment of NFIA, which is why we have explicitly supported a series of government policies for, and investments in, the facility in recent years (including in our annual government affairs agenda).  We think redevelopment for NFIA should begin and focus on creating an intercontinental transshipment facility, which would be of great benefit to local businesses, the regional economy and Niagara County, in particular.  We believe NFIA redevelopment might also include intercontinental passenger charter service for planes too heavy to land at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BNIA).  Both of these developments would and should complement the services and infrastructure that already exist at the BNIA, which widely is considered one of the area?s biggest regional development successes in years.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Rudnick