Congressman Mike brokered a deal that would leave the $1.1 HUD money in Schenectady. In turn, Schenectady will give Troy $100,000 (plus lessons in administering a city) a year for ten years.
This is good news. No one could argue that Troy needs all the money it can get.
Stratton is not without his faults. We did not agree with his pay raise fiasco, but he does act in a professional manner. For example, Stratton's response to Councilwoman Collier's rather hysterical e-mail (see previous post):
I want to thank you for asking me to respond to the critical email circulated by Councilmember Carolin Collier concerning Schenectady’s recent decision to recapture and reallocate roughly $1.1 million in HUD HOME Funding that Troy had been unable to commit as required by federal law. My Development Department staff has been working in conjunction with HUD administrators and with Troy officials over the course of several years to bring Troy’s development programs into line with HUD requirements. The recent action to recapture and reallocate funding was not intended to benefit Schenectady and Colonie but, rather, was undertaken to safeguard these funds from outright forfeiture by the Secretary of HUD. Federal Law requires that the HOME Funds be committed or obligated within two years of their receipt. If the Consortium fails to discharge that obligation, HUD is required to freeze the uncommitted funds, take them back, and then re-award them to another Participating Jurisdiction.
At the request of Congressman McNulty, I have spent much of the past week brainstorming with my Development and Legal staffs in an effort to find a responsible mechanism to assist Troy recover these funds in a way that will allow Troy to effectively utilize them. We have communicated a proposal to Mayor Tutunjian through the Congressman and we will be meeting later today to hopefully reach an agreement that serves the interests of both cities and ensures the continued viability of this critical stream of urban renewal funding. I am confident that after you learn the details of my proposal, you will be able to respond constructively to your fellow council members and demonstrate that the course Schenectady has been forced to pursue was both responsible and in the best interests of the citizens of Troy.
As always, I look forward to continuing to work with you.
Brian U. Stratton, Mayor
We guess class and professionalism in elected circles isn't entirely dead in the area.
Rather than cast about for someone to blame, McNulty and Stratton provided a solution.
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