Staff Reports
Members of the Niagara County Legislature’s Administration Committee have agreed to use another $27,890 in casino revenue to pay the law firm Phillips Lytle for its work on another legal fight that seeks to reverse the state Legislature’s decision to allow the county’s portion of casino revenue to be transferred to support road repairs in the City of Niagara Falls.
Majority Leader Richard Updegrove, R-Lockport, said Tuesday that attorneys from Phillips Lytle have told him that a good deal of legal work has already been performed as part of the county’s earlier casino cash lawsuit, so he’s confident the new matter will be resolved in a timely fashion.
“We don’t see the accumulation of significant legal bills on this because, essentially, the work has been done,” Updegrove said.
In other matters, the committee:
• Agreed to retain the grant-writing services of J. O’Connell & Associates for another year. If the measure is approved by the full Legislature, the firm would be paid $60,000 to submit a minimum of 10 grant applications for the county in 2010. The company obtained $992,461 in grant funding for the county in 2009.
• Approved an allocation of $40,000 in casino revenue to support the Niagara Military Affairs Council’s 2010 budget. NIMAC is the primary advocacy group for the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. The group has experienced financial challenges in recent months because of cuts in state funding.
