NIAGARA FALLS, NY - Despite the significant impact the loss of casino revenue may have on the city, Mayor Paul Dyster only made reference to it a few times in his 49 minute State of The City Address on Tuesday.
He acknowledged the continued dispute between New York State and the Seneca Nation of Indians, which has stopped payments flowing to the city, makes things more challenging.
The dispute is now part of lengthy arbitration process, where the two side have yet to even agree on an arbitrator.
But outside of encouraging both sides to come to terms, Dyster continued to take a hands off approach…something unsettling to at least one of the newer members of the city council here.
"While we look forward to the resolution of the casino revenue dispute and offer our assistance, our policy is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Dyster said during his speech at Niagara Falls High School.
After his remarks, Dyster reminded reporters the casino compact is between the state and the Seneca Nation, with no provision for the city to enter into its own agreement to accept payments in the interim, as some, including the Seneca, have suggested.
"What I have tried to avoid is to do anything that undermines the position of the state, and therefore the city, in the arbitration by making it look like we are already moving back to a plan B," Dyster said.
“The reality is, we're in a budget crisis,” said Niagara Falls City Councilman Bill Kennedy, who was elected to his first term this past fall, and says he did not hear as much as he would have liked to from Dyster about how the city will deal with the situation.
"If you are the figurehead of the city you have the power to reach out to those that are maybe a step above you, and the ones that are involved with the negotiations, to make things go a little bit faster and a little bit smoother," Kennedy said.
In prior years, the city has averaged nearly $20 million annually from casino payments which have vaporized due to the lack of an agreement. As well, sources tell us tell any reserves left from the many years the city did collect, are just about gone.
In October, Governor Andrew Cuomo told WGRZ-TV that it would be unfair for the state to provide funds to Niagara Falls to make up any shortfall rising from a dispute the city has nothing to do with.
“We haven't made any request to the state for some sort of emergency bailout. We're not at that point. We're in an arbitration process which we expect to win, and we hope the arbitration process is going to be settled in a timely way," Dyster said.
Other highlights from the speech:
- Dyster vowed to bring back the “pothole killer” to tackle the craters in the Cataract City’s streets, despite the fact that the apparatus has that is something that has traditionally been paid for with casino funds.