Democrats say that the MCC project is in no immediate danger. Last year, the Legislature authorized $28 million in borrowing for MCC’s new downtown campus, Dems say, and $24 million of that funding is still available.
POLITICS | BY JEREMY MOULE
MCC in the middle of LDC fight Republicans in the County Legislature say that by failing to go along with a borrowing measure, Democrats are jeopardizing Monroe Community College’s plans for a new downtown campus. Dems say the GOP is being dramatic. The measure includes $44 million for MCC’s new campus. But Democrats say the project is in no immediate danger. Last year, the Legislature authorized $28 million in borrowing for the project, Democrats say, and $24 million of that funding is still available. And this week, Legislature committees are considering proposals to authorize design and construction management contracts for the project, totaling $7 million. College officials, while unhappy about the delay in the latest borrowing measure, haven’t said whether it will truly delay the project. “I think it’s too soon to tell what will happen,” says MCC spokesperson Cynthia Cooper. The imbroglio started during last week’s full Legislature meeting, where legislators voted on the budget. At the same meeting, Democrats voted against a yearly borrowing plan to fund dozens of county purchases and projects. The move stalled the measure, since bond authorization requires a two-thirds majority vote. Republicans are one vote shy of that threshold. Democrats hope that by blocking the measure they can get Republicans to agree
that a Legislature committee should oversee an ongoing internal investigation of countylinked local development corporations. But Democrat Legislator Justin Wilcox’s legislation to establish the oversight committee was shot down by Republicans during Monday night’s Agenda/Charter Committee meeting. Afterward, Majority Leader Steve Tucciarello said that Republicans rejected the legislation because the caucus is “committed to protecting the integrity” of the state Attorney General’s Office and federal investigations. He said the caucus wants to respect the timelines of those investigations and that he has confidence in the administration’s internal review. “Sooner or later all of that is going to come out,” Tucciarello said. Wilcox’s legislation is dead for now, but Democrats could try to bring it back during a future Legislature meeting. And the borrowing plan is in limbo. The internal review into the Upstate Telecommunications Corporation and Monroe Safety and Security Systems LDC’s grew out of a state Attorney General’s Office investigation which resulted in charges against four men. They include Nelson Rivera, the county’s former chief information technology officer, and Robert Wiesner, husband to County Executive Maggie Brooks.
All four defendants face bid-rigging allegations, though the charges against Wiesner will likely be dropped. The AG’s office plans to impanel a new grand jury to consider charges Justin Wilcox. PHOTO BY against Wiesner. JEREMY MOULE The county administration hired a Buffalo-based law firm to assist with the ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, as well as with an FBI investigation. One of the firm’s partners, former state Attorney General Dennis Vacco, is leading the administration’s internal LDC probe. Democrats say they’ve been shut out of Vacco’s investigation and that Brooks has a clear conflict of interest. That’s why the Legislature should oversee the internal review, they say. “The county executive cannot be allowed to investigate her own administration, the actions of her own appointed department heads, her own office, or even her own actions,” Wilcox said during Monday’s committee meeting.
Cost of War AFGHANISTAN TOTALS —
2,293 US servicemen and servicewomen and 1,105 Coalition servicemen and servicewomen have been killed in Afghanistan from the beginning of the war and occupation to December 16. Statistics for Afghan civilian casualties are not available. American casualties from November 17 to December 11: -- Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Rodriguez, 19, Fairhaven, Mass. iraqbodycount. org, icasualties.org, Department of Defense
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