Legislature’s Finance Committee requests more accountability from Buffalo Urban League

The Erie County Legislature’s Finance and Management Committee met with the Buffalo Urban League, former employees and community activists today to discuss serious issues raised during the Comptroller Office’s contract review of the agency. In his analysis of the review, Finance and Management Committee Chairman Joseph Lorigo questioned how the billing errors could have occurred in the first place and how to prevent this from happening in the future.

 

“The issues within Buffalo Urban League’s operations were brought to the county’s attention thanks to employees who contacted the Whistleblower Hotline after witnessing inappropriate billing practices, questionable use of taxpayer dollars, and failure to protect clients’ privacy,” said Legislator Lorigo. “The issues within management, which starts at the top with President McDuffie, must be addressed. The Buffalo Urban League’s contract with the county is significant with regard to the services they are expected to provide and the funding they receive to do so. This isn’t a minor issue. I am pleased we were able to discuss this matter in an open forum today in an effort to move forward, correct the errors, and ensure they don’t happen again.”

 

Legislator Lorigo continued, “While the concern about use of taxpayer dollars is significant, a major concern is reports that Buffalo Urban League has not been properly fulfilling the purpose of its contract to provide effective Preventative Services to vulnerable children. Several former employees have testified that the Buffalo Urban League doesn’t properly train its employees nor provide the necessary support to help them accomplish their goals. This puts our young people at risk. In Erie County, we know we face an uphill battle when it comes to protecting children and my colleagues and I have been committed to doing everything we can to support the county’s Child Protective Services department and all partners. We put our trust in Buffalo Urban League to work with the county on this mission; today I want to ensure the children in need are being properly served. Going forward I expect this conversation to continue with the county demanding that all agencies meet the parameters of the contracts they are awarded.”

 

Finance and Management Committee Vice Chairman Legislator Edward A. Rath, III said he was hopeful that following today’s discussion that the Buffalo Urban League will work the Legislature and the county to take the necessary steps to fully protect taxpayer dollars and best serve its clients.

 

“Erie County’s contracts are extremely important to our efforts to carry out services and when we have employees reporting serious allegations to the Whistleblower Hotline it is very concerning. The billing issues reported by the whistleblowers are disconcerting. As Legislators we represent taxpayers and their money, and today’s discussion demonstrated that there are serious concerns stemming from the management of county tax dollars. I want to be assured that the leaders at Buffalo Urban League acknowledge that mistakes were made and will work with us to fix them. While it is extremely disappointing that the issues happened, what is most important is proper execution of services going forward,” said Legislator Rath.   

 

For additional information, please contact the Erie County Legislature at 858-7500 or visit www.erie.gov/legislature.