"Rich people want to give you money."
If such a message came through on your e-mail, you'd probably just delete it without reading any further. "Some scam," you'd say to yourself, and not give it a second thought.
But last week the people of Niagara Falls found out that rich people really do want to give them money. Something called the "Building a Better Niagara Falls Fund" was created earlier this very year in order to subsidize the salaries of city employees.
Mayor Paul Dyster used this newfound largess to lessen the sticker shock that came with his choice for city administrator, Donna Owens of Detroit, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and, most recently, Atlanta. She will start her new job in July at a salary of $110,000 a year, $35,000 of which will be subsidized by the "Building a Better Niagara Falls Fund."
This is pretty much unheard of. Generally, the salaries of public employees are paid in their entirety by the taxpayers, on occasion with the help of a state or federal grant. The idea of private citizens covering the cost through a charitable fund is a new one on us.
We wish Ms. Owens well in her new position. And we'd like to thank the good folks at the "Building a Better Niagara Falls Fund" for helping to make her hiring possible. But we can't. Because the people who donate money to the fund "wish to remain anonymous."
There had been, in fact, no mention of the fund's existence prior to last Tuesday when the Reporter, along with the two daily papers, mentioned it in connection with the Owens hiring.
The fund is administered by a venerable institution, the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo. Founded in 1919, the foundation is apparently above reproach except for the fact they have Andrew Rudnick of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership on their board of directors. His involvement in the wholesale destruction of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce and his opposition to any expansion of Niagara Falls International Airport have been well documented.
Presumably, the people who are giving large sums of money to the Dyster administration don't want their names in the newspapers. Maybe they're very modest -- it's hard to say.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | May 6 2008 |