Published: October 29, 2009 11:18 pm      

DECISION: Tonawanda United Way opts out of merger

The United Way of the Tonawandas on Thursday voted alone, opposing a years in the making plan to consolidate their group with those in Lockport and Niagara Falls.

About 40 members from the Tonawandas’ United Way were present at Stephen Sikora Post on Payne Avenue in North Tonawanda to vote, and along with proxy votes from another 395 members who were not present, voted down the measure 392 opposed, 116 in favor.

The landslide reversal came just eight months after a February vote that had originally approved the plan, 154 to 30. But after the last vote, Executive Director George O’Neil contacted the state attorney general claiming unfair play in part due to proxy votes and his belief that some of the organization’s local members weren’t accounted for.

As a result the state mandated Thursday’s new vote. It also asked that two paragraphs be added to say that members of each separate group would retain their voting membership under the intended single, new organization to be called United Way of Greater Niagara. The latter, however, was mainly a formality.

Plans to create the new entity were compiled by members of a committee that worked for more than three years to design the merger, intended to reverse years of lackluster fundraising campaigns by reducing operational costs associated with redundancy countywide.

At the time of the first vote, members of the Niagara Falls and Lockport United Way organizations had for their parts voted in favor of merging into the new group.

Those organizations again approved the plan in their own new votes Thursday.

Forty members in Niagara Falls voted unanimously to consolidate.

The Lockport contingent also voted unanimously to approve the merger.

Bob Hagen, chairman of the board of directors for Lockport, said while they’re hopeful the Tonawandas will come around, his organization and that of Niagara will likely seek to consolidate.

“Both the United Way of Niagara and the Eastern Niagara United Way are prepared to move forward. We are hoping it will eventually be with the Tonawandas if they find a way to do that,” Hagen said.

The original plan was written to include all three groups, and may have to be rewritten, which Hagen suggested would be done if required.

“We’re optimistic we will work out a plan and move ahead. We have support for that. There’s no uncertainty,” he said, adding “A lot of great people did a lot of hard work to study and develop this.”

Back in the Twin Cities, the single greatest influence on the outcome was a stunning 301 proxy votes by members who allowed Board of Trustees member Bill Miles to vote in their stead.

“We cast our vote as no,” he said from the gallery during a period during which the proxy votes were tallied.

Another 95 proxies were called by United Way of the Tonawandas President Bob Sondel, who is in favor of consolidation, not enough to turn the tables.

At February’s vote, no proxy petitions were gathered in opposition of the plan. This time, O’Neil said an effort was made to solicit more. It worked.

“We had board members who went out and solicited the proxies from our membership and carried the vote,” he said.

To be fair, it was the 115 proxy votes carried in favor of the plan by Sondel last time that formed a good deal of O’Neil’s criticisms, mainly because he thought a slew of new members were recruited to obtain voting rights by pledging $1. On Thursday, the shoe was on the other foot, though nobody would say whether the same tactic was used.

Miles, who decided for the majority of absentee voters to shoot down the plan, said he isn’t opposed to consolidation but chose to lead the opposition because of issues he has surrounding a closure. The United Way center at 34 Seymour St., in the City of Tonawanda, would close under the plan. Officials, however, had planned to open a smaller community office at the Salvation Army headquarters in the City of Tonawanda.

“It’s going to reduce significantly the expenses of having an office,” United Way of the Tonawandas Nicholas Maniccia had said at the time of the first vote.

But O’Neil and Miles contend that would cause Erie County residents to lose out.

“I am for the merger completely,” Miles said after leading the charge that defeated it Thursday. “It makes a lot of sense ... what doesn’t make sense is when you make a decision to close Tonawanda before you have it in your hands ... that doesn’t make sense,” he said, summarizing his disapproval.

Sondel thought misinformation surrounded the new decision to vote down the plan, and cited a letter by Miles that ran on Wednesday’s Tonawanda News editorial page.

“Unless we can increase revenues and reduce expenses we’re not going to have successful campaigns,” he said.

Sondel suggested the issue could resurface next year for reconsideration.

Contact reporter Neale Gulley at 693-1000, ext. 114.