Published: June 04, 2008 01:22 am      

NIAGARA COUNTY: Sloma speaks out on AES — sort of

Henry Sloma cited the advice of county attorneys in explaining on Tuesday the reason for his shyness when it comes to publicly discussing the more intimate details of the county Industrial Development Agency’s controversial tax break with AES Corp.

Before an address to the Niagara County Legislature on his agency’s job-creation efforts, Sloma spoke directly to his critics who have long clamored for him to publicly explain why the agency helped the company secure a generous payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement that will save AES roughly $90 million over a 12-year period.

Sloma, chairman of the IDA board, said he was told by agency counsel to avoid making public statements on the agreement until after all lawsuits related to the deal have been adjudicated. Because some of those suits are still under appeal, Sloma said he is still not yet at liberty to make any public statements on the matter.

“The direction from our counsel remains the same,” he said.

Minority Leader Dennis Virtuoso, D-Niagara Falls, questioned Sloma’s reasoning, arguing that the chairman had ample time in which he could have addressed the Legislature, noting that there were several weeks between the time when the deal was signed and when the lawsuits were filed.

“He came before the Majority Caucus and answered all of your questions,” Virtuoso said.

Sloma said he would welcome the opportunity to discuss the deal with lawmakers or anyone else once all of the legal wrangling is over.

In other matters, the Legislature:

n Established the Niagara County Pedophile-Free Child Safety Zone Act, which bars registered sex offenders from lingering within 1,000 feet of a school, park, child care facility or other public and private location frequented by children.

Violators of the act can be charged with Class B misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $500 and imprisonment of up to three months in jail. Under the proposed law, repeat offenders could be hit with class A misdemeanors that carry fines of up to $1,000 and sentences of up to one year in jail.

n Authorized a resolution that encourages the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. to support “Explore Niagara,” a proposed pilot program that would establish a trolley service to link tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and the Town of Lewiston and Village of Youngstown.

n Agreed to accept a proposal that will allow the NCIDA to repay the county $1 million over the next five years to cover part of the startup costs related to the establishment of the agency’s revolving loan fund back in 1987. Under the terms of the deal, the IDA will make $200,000 payments to the county in each of the next five years, starting July 1.

n Paused to allow members of a county Board of Inquiry to hold an organizational meeting. The group of five lawmakers, which will examine the business dealings of county Coroner James Joyce, received copies of newspaper articles involving Joyce from board chairman Paul Wojtaszek, R-North Tonawanda. Wojtaszek asked members to review the articles and begin thinking about which individuals and what records may be pertinent to their efforts. The group will hold its first formal meeting at 5:30 p.m. June 11 at the county’s Center for Economic Development in Sanborn.

Contact reporter Mark Scheerat 282-2311, ext. 2250.