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I received a call Wednesday from a friend hoping I could confirm Niagara Falls Director of Community Development and Code Enforcement Clifford Scott had been fired.
It was a rumor and I did not start it. It appears as if Scott is still at work but his dismissal would be believable because there has been a lot of turnover in the administration of Mayor Robert Restaino. He’s gone through 2 comptrollers and is down to his Deputy Corporation Counsel.
At the DPW, he’s on his 3rd director, going from Kinney to Feagin to Tompkins.
Scott handles Community Development and Code Enforcement. He added code enforcement after Corey Baskerville was dismissed. Baskerville was qualified for the job but had some issues with allegations of inappropriate behavior in addition to allegedly not living in the city.
Scott was available because he had parted ways with the Niagara Falls Housing Authority under unexplained circumstances.
Meanwhile, I can’t remember if the Restaino administration has been through 3 or 4 public information officers but that job is open again. I believe we are also on our second city clerk.
Besides the mayor, the only static role appears to be that of City Administrator Anthony Restaino.
Anyway, back to the matter of Scott. I harbor no animus toward him even if he did threaten to prosecute me over chickens observed on my property by his staff. I still have no details on when the chickens were observed and if there were photos or if they saw a giraffe while here.
His department has lost a ton of experienced staff in recent years and appears to be doing a decent job. He gets points for getting Pharaoh’s down, even at a cost of $80,000.
Now we will see what happens with the Blue Cardinal “Nightmare on Main Street.”
