Friday Potpourri

Auditors at City Hall?

I spent some time Thursday trying to run down a rumor the auditors from the State Comptroller’s office arrived Tuesday and spent the week at city hall looking at records relating to the American Rescue Plan in the controller's office.

Given the opacity of our city administration I’m sure there could be any number of things.

My top guess, and this is pure speculation, would be there is some detail related to bidding not being done, perhaps for engineering on the new dog shelter.

In the end, sources tell me it was a “risk assessment” but no irregularities were found so there will be not further investigation.

Schumer cares about everyone else

Elsewhere in today’s Express is an article on Olean getting a $25 million state grant to revitalize a section of its Main Street. It was Olean’s 3rd year applying for the same grant, tweaking it every time according to feedback. Coverage is shared elsewhere in today’s Express.

Now I see Niagara securing a grant to bring more internet access to Niagara Falls, more than $9 million, an idea first brought forth by Dontae Richardson and brought to fruition by NU.

10th Street gym

It is exciting that the city might still have title to the 10th Street gym and roughly half the land that Mayor Restaino needs for Centennial Park is already owned by the city because it wasn’t properly “alienated” by the Anello administration.

Alienation is the process that State Law requires for parkland to be turned to other uses.

So the city has spent at least $90,000 in legal fees for Hodgson Russ on eminent domain proceedings for property the mayor says it already half owns. How did Hodgson Russ or the Mayor not already know this?

Lack of auditors at City Hall?

In every year in memory, there has been an independent audit of city government. Usually the mayor presents the report to the city council as prepared by an outside firm.

There was no independent audit presented to the council in 2024. Perhaps it is not required by the charter but it seems like it would be common sense for an administration priding itself on transparency.

Finally, I had to snowblow

It seems odd it is now January 16 and I just had to snowblow for the first time.

The good news is my 1982 Ariens started on the first pull. Also, while walking today two blocks south of Devils Hole on Lewiston Road I saw a young man of about 15 with a snow shovel going door-to-door. “Trying to get some money for shoveling people out,” he said. When I see a young man like that it gives me faith in humanity. If he had knocked on my door before I snowblowed I would have tossed him a $20 and had him shovel rather than snowblowing.