Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State budget approved by lawmakers late Tuesday includes language pertaining to Western Regional OTB's board of directors, which strips all 17 of them from their positions, effective immediately.
The move, which was discussed extensively in Albany on Tuesday, will give the most power of appointing directors to the more populated counties and cities. Erie County will have the biggest say, followed closely by Monroe County, with third-most being the City of Buffalo.
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"The Western Regional OTB has operated under a cloud of suspicion for some time," said Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick in a WBEN interview. "There have been rumors of an FBI investigation. I know that there was a whistleblower complaint. There was an audit by the State Comptroller. It raises a lot of questions as to what's going on there."
Hardwick says he has written several letters to the board with questions about the board activity only to receive partial answers. Hardwick describes the state's discussion as "surprising" and further characterizes it by saying, "It's been long overdue."
Recent reports suggest that county executives and mayors will have the say in appointing the new directors to the board. For counties without executives, the decision will go to the supervising board. Hardwick says previously in the county's case, that decision was made by the Erie County Legislature.
As it stands right now, the majority of the board comes from right-leaning rural counties. This could shift the political ideology of the board.
"You would think that there would be a shift. More importantly, I hope there's a shift in philosophy. I hope that there's more transparency. I think you'll see that. And eventually, maybe some of the questions that we've been asking will be answered," said Hardwick.
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