Is This Agreement Between The Town of Lancaster and The Boys Club Actually Binding???

[GroundControl]

Chad,
Concerning lasts night's TOL board meeting,

Your observation is a good one but I believe you've missed the point.

I along with many did also view that meeting. I also have been able to view the original contract which clearly states the director of the Boys Club WILL work in concert which the Town Supervisor concerning All issues that involved town tax payer funds being spent and the Director WILL keep the Supervisor up to date on information concerning each program the Club is involved with. Basically The Club would keep in regular contact with the Supervisor through out the fiscal year.
Had this practice been observed I am pretty sure the Boys Club would have been made aware. It falls more on them to keep the contract intact. If past administrations found no need to exercise that part of the contract then shame on them. The Boys Club IS not in financial trouble by any means. They have a pretty healthy bank account right now.

And therein lies the rub sir. Asking who is being paid and what their particular benefit package looks like is not some sort of an insult to anyones integrity. I think the board rightfully took the proper action by halting a procedure that needs some timely oversight, the oversight called for in the legal contract between the voters elected representatives and the Boys Club.

[mark blazejewski]

It is curious. Someone with a legal background in contract law would likely know the answer. Can an agreement such as this one be made on a specific day (for instance, prior to 1/1/2024) yet have the appearance of being established at some point in the future (on 1/1/2024)?

A plain reading of the document clearly states the agreement was established on 1/1/2024. If the prior Supervisor's term had already expired as of that date, one could reasonably conclude that he had no legal authority to enter into such an agreement. It certainly seems to open up a legal gray area, at least for a layperson such as myself.

Great question, Mark.

Just Musing!


Chad, just a hunch, but even though I understand that 2024 funding for the Boys Club was a component to Mr. Ruffino's last budget, both parties did faithfully performed their obligations throughout 2024, did they not?

In that connection, without reference to any other longstanding bureaucratic and accounting errors, omissions, and screw-ups, if the point that I raised regarding the legality of the contract has some semblance of validity, should not that anomaly have served as a huge red flag to the incoming administration, and therefore, would it not seem that both the Boys Club and the town equally share some responsibility for the casual attitude toward formal process and record keeping?

I believe that the Leary administration, albeit heavily burdened by the cesspool of Ruffino's financial wizardry, is sincere in its determination to right the ship, but did it not fully provide the funding throughout 2024, and did so without any publicly expressed reservations or concern(s)?


Perhaps if such a recognizable curiosity as the contract's form and possible validity had been brought to the public light during the course of 2024, maybe the feared withdrawal of the 2025 funding would not be currently viewed by some as the town's "bolt-out-of-the blue" sudden change of heart, but as a foreseeable consequence of the town's rising level of concern?

I trust Leary, his facts, and his explanations regarding this matter. But, he is now in a position to explain the Board's contemplated actions, and as the political adage says, "When you're explaining, you're losing."

It would have been tidier for Leary to have laid the groundwork previously, but, what do I know?

[mark blazejewski]

I do have one further question, why is it that the Agreement dated January 1, 2024 was not filed with the Town Clerk until March 6, 2024?

Where was it for two months and five days, floating in space, or underneath someone's coffee cup, or perhaps cover-up by a pastry tray in the Supervisor's office?

Just joking of course, but seriously, where was that stellar new staff that he is always boasting about?

Maybe a staff member, in keeping with its values, wanted extra compensation for walking the Agreement up the stairs to the Town Clerk's Office- at Federal Express rates, or perhaps a even benefits consistent with a USPS carrier?




Click on attachment to enlarge:

image - 2025-02-04T164325.996.png

[mark blazejewski]

Per its January 31, 2025 statement, The Boys Club suggests it provides "safe, supportive environment where children can grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Through a variety of after-school programs, mentorship opportunities, and recreational activities..."

Certainly, those goals are wonderful and worthy of funding, so a few questions:

(1) Does the Club retain staff tutors or perhaps credentialled instructors?

(2) Does the Club retain credentialled staff counselors and social workers?

(3) Does the Club retain credentialed staff professionals to work with special needs children?

(4) Does the Club retain credentialled staff physical trainers?

(5) What are the qualifications of the staff that ensure safety and security?

(6) Do the Club's mentorship programs include credentialled business and vocational counselors and trainers, and perhaps an outreach program to local businesses, which in turn provide internship opportunities?

(7) Does the Club have staff which provides lunch or dinner program(s)?

(8) Does the Club retain a credentialled recreational/activities therapist/counselor and staff?

Here is the Boys Club schedule. Please click on attachment to enlarge:

image0 (3).jpg

Such an expansive program may explain as to where our tax dollars are going, and I would be very supportive of such funding. Direct answers to these questions would be reassuring, but silence or murky answers will foster suspicion(s) and raise my level of concern.

[gorja]

This has a few if the staff members-
https://depewlancasterbgc.org/staff/
But I thought the Executive director retired.

[mark blazejewski]

This has a few if the staff members-
https://depewlancasterbgc.org/staff/
But I thought the Executive director retired.

Thank you Gorja.

I appears that the website speaks to administrators, but we have to wonder how their mission statement is professionally realized, do we not?

[mark blazejewski]

It would seem that these actors are probably administrators, so where is the rest of the Boys Club staff?


Click Images To Enlarge:

Screenshot (102).jpg



Screenshot (103).jpg


Screenshot (104).jpg

Reference: https://depewlancasterbgc.org/staff/

[mark blazejewski]

From today's Lancaster Bee:

Boys & Girls Club meets with town officials to discuss annual funding

Town seeks program details, financial reports

by JAMES SINNER Editor | on February 06, 2025



The Depew-Lancaster Boys & Girls Club hit a snag receiving their annual funding within this year’s Town of Lancaster 2025 budget, councilmembers pulling the $245,000 from their expenditures and expressing a desire to analyze the investment and what programs it will assist before its approval.

How the town evaluates the funding contract with the organization has changed compared to that of previous administrations. Town Supervisor Bob Leary stated in a conversation on the topic that he wants to increase oversight, municipal participation, and acquire a clear understanding of what programs are being funded. Leary believes that anything less could violate New York’s General Municipal Law on donations to nonmunicipal organizations.

“Unfortunately, you can’t just hand out money like that. The state law indicates that the town, if they’re going to give out money to a group like this, needs to be in charge of the particular program that they are giving money for,” Leary said. “It has to be something that the town is in control of and basically responsible for.”

The town’s primary concern rests in the specifics. Leary believes previous resolutions granting money were vague in nature, leaving out the details on what specific activities are going to be funded, something he and Town Attorney Jennifer Strong propose has the potential to run astray of state guidelines.
At a meeting with administrative members of the Boys & Girls Club, Leary stated that some of the organization’s financial reports showed town funding was utilized for not only programs, but salaries and health benefits as well of fulltime employees, something he and other councilmembers want to stray away from.

“We can’t pay for that. We have a town government. We have over 250 employees. We pay our own salaries; we pay our own peoples’ health care. We can’t be paying for that. We can’t be paying for anything that the town does not control or have a say in,” Leary said.

A copy of the 2024 resolution granting last year’s allotment of funding to the Boys & Girls Club described its allocation as heading to the Youth Development Program. The resolution did not limit how the Boys & Girls Club used its funding, including on items such as salaries and health benefits. The funding contract covered, but was “in no way limited to costs with equipment, materials, supplies, labor, insurance, rent, taxes, and utilities.”

Leary stated that once the details are sorted out on what exact activities would be funded, he expects that the amount to be delivered will be less than $245,000, the running amount delivered since 2020. He added that the board also wants to avoid a “duplication of efforts” by not funding programs similar to those that exist at the Town of Lancaster Youth Bureau, and to create an account specifically for town funding sent to the club to be saved and monitored.

On what a reduction in funding would look like, Leary said that decision will come as a result of ongoing meetings with Boys & Girls Club personnel. “We don’t know yet until we get done withnegotiations,” he said. “We won’t have a set amount until we get to that point.”

The decision to pause funding to the Boys & Girls Club saw some community feedback at the most recent Town Board meeting, with residents concerned that the organization would not be able to function properly and serve community needs. Other town residents stepped forward to applaud the oversight and cited it as an example of good housekeeping.

“They are just looking to have us report on our programs – where’s our money getting spent,” said Jeff Kupka, executive director at the Depew-Lancaster Boys & Girls Club. “We met with the supervisor, he was very receptive and we are glad to see things working out. Our No. 1 priority is our kids and the kids in the community.”

Kupka did express concern over the proposal of less money to aid the club this year around. “If the funding did fall short, any at all, we definitely would struggle,” he said.

Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...nnual-funding/

[mark blazejewski]

From today's Lancaster Bee:

Boys & Girls Club meets with town officials to discuss annual funding

Town seeks program details, financial reports

by JAMES SINNER Editor | on February 06, 2025





Reference: https://www.lancasterbee.com/article...nnual-funding/

As I understand the issue, Leary, IMHO correctly, is concerned about how the funding was previously utilized. I also understand that Leary is investigating this matter, and part of the investigation has already included a meeting with the Boys Club leadership.

I applaud Leary for his efforts.

With that said, what did Leary mean with this comment:

"We don’t know yet until we get done with negotiations,” he said. “We won’t have a set amount until we get to that point.”

Have all of Leary's outstanding questions been fully answered, and has the issue has been resolved, allowing both parties to negotiate the future funding?


Or, is Leary still in talks with them to ascertain what exactly what had been taking place with the previous funding?

It seems to me if the latter is the case, what is there to negotiate at this stage, because it seems to me that specic funding negotiations would be premature until all of the facts are known. Certainly negiotiating to massage the perceptions of past-practices would not be the right and ethical thing to do, IMHO?

I think the taxpayers and the residents have a right to know as to how all of their previous money has been spent, and some clarification is needed here.

[mark blazejewski]

...councilmembers pulling the ...expenditures and expressing a desire to analyze...before its approval.

I do agree with Leary's scrutiny of the Boys Club past practices, and I salute his initiatives in that regard.

I also saluted the scrutiny of the 2025 budget by board members who questioned a proposal to raise the the salary of Assistant to the Supervisor.

As is in this case with Leary, the Council Member who had proposed a resolution to prevent the raise, along with the other Council members whom one-passionate partisan termed "unprepared," did exactly what he and the others were elected to do: They pushed-back on the proposed raise when they had concerns about the proposed increase, and there was nothing "arbitrary or capricious" about their endeavour. In fact, the net result of their diligence appears to have been a just outcome for all parties concerned.

When our elected officials have concerns, asking questions, debating, and then learning, are good things, don't ya think?

Adoption of the 2025 Lancaster budget scheduled for November 4, 2024, was withdrawn for further review. That evening’s budget proposal had only one amendment (modification) and was heavily contested. Having had one month to review the tentative budget and after a public hearing (where no resident commented on it) it was withdrawn because a few board members appeared unprepared...


Can’t help thinking this position was targeted, making this an arbitrary and capricious modification.

https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...E2%80%93-again


Perhaps if the previous Democrat-controlled Boards, the last Democrat Supervisor, and the ever-watchful Leary had more thoroughly scrutinized the Boy Scout during his four previous years on the Board, the current funding for the Boys Club participants would not be in its current state of abeyance.*

Perhaps Leary's learning curve was rather steep, but hey, better late than never, eh?

[mark blazejewski]

Correction to post #25:

This sentence...

Perhaps if the previous Democrat-controlled Boards, the last Democrat Supervisor, and the ever-watchful Leary had more thoroughly scrutinized the Boy Scout during his four previous years on the Board, the current funding for the Boys Club participants would not be in its current state of abeyance.

was meant to read:

"Perhaps if the previous Democrat-controlled Boards, the last Democrat Supervisor, and the ever-watchful Leary had more thoroughly scrutinized the Boys CLUB during his four previous years on the Board, the current funding for the Boys Club participants would not be in its current state of abeyance.

My bad.

[mark blazejewski]

Let's Hope We Get Answers and Corrections, this time.

My Opinion:

Leary did an excellent job in bringing the Boys Club issue to the forefront of the public conversation. His concerns are very valid, and we all eagerly await the results of his talks with the Club's leadership. I am sure that we all hope that future funding proceeds flawlessly.

As I see things, Leary always seems to faithfully brings problems to light, and pursues answers. That is a very good thing.

Regrettably, there have been instances in the past, when with the passage of time, the initial value that Leary placed on issues seemed to have faded, and both his probative nature and thirst for solutions seemed to have been diluted.

Consider the issue of the Buffalo-Lancaster Airport crash of May 14, 2022.

On that date, depending if one believes Flight Aware's tracking or a convienent narrative, a small plane flipped-over or crashed, upon landing. Although that was potentially a very dangerous situation, a so-called airport tenant, incredibly denied first responders access to the crash site stating that the airport was private property. Even more bizarre, the first responders complied with the tenant's denial.

At the time, Leary seemed very concerned by that turn of events. From the Lancaster Bee, May 19, 2022:

“This is completely unacceptable...,” said Town of Lancaster Trustee Robert Leary discussing the incident...He believes medical professionals should be allowed to be on-site during these situations, and equally, that law enforcement should be permitted to investigate the circumstances surrounding any crash or accident."

In May, 2022, the public was promised that the results of a full investigation would be made public after the investigation was completed.

The Board remained silent about its investigation for one year and four months

What did happen at the May 14th, 2022, Lancaster Airport crash

Lancaster residents were promised a follow up report of the airport runway accident where Lancaster police and fire were denied access to the gated property to provide personal assistance in the event of injury and to offer investigative aid in determining the accident’s cause.

When the matter was discussed at the town board meeting Supervisor Ruffino and Councilmember Leary declared the accident was being investigated by the FAA and its report would be made public. Since then, crickets.

Reference: https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...caster+airport

This is what the public heard from Leary, one year, four months and five days after Leary's initial comments were published:

"Chief, could you talk about the airport at this point in time, instead of taking-up time during the regular meeting...for whatever reason people are asking questions about when the plane flipped-over on May 14, 2022."

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7mSTaQAook

"For whatever reason," seriously?

Isn't public safety adequate reason to ask a question?

Reader, contrast Leary's May 19, 2022 words with his September 18, 2023 words, and ask yourself how confident are you that with the passage of time, answers to the Boys Club issue will truly be forthcoming and the proper remediation will be made?

[GroundControl]

Mark,

I am waiting to see if this board will make public a list of ALL employees and ALL board members of the Boys Club and a list of ALL persons who receive any salary and and or benefits. I'm guessing that list may be very revealing and a bit embarrassing. If not why is this information not available on the current website of the Boys Club?

Still a lot of pertinent information not out in the open for the public to draw any conclusions from concerning the leadership at the Boys Club and how they managed the taxpayers money.

Your observations of this board and it's members is warranted and I hope you will continue to state such.

[mark blazejewski]

Your observations of this board and it's members is warranted and I hope you will continue to state such.

Just My Opinion:

I certainly intend to do so GC, because what I see developing with the more fanatical Leary supporters, is a trending assertion of control; a consolidation of power which in some ways, on a much smaller scale, resembles those of the more notorious revolutionaries in history.

These nutcase fanatics seem to have formed some sort of palace guard, which now surrounds a man duly elected by all of the people of Lancaster. They would stand watch at his approaches and interrupt outreach. They have bullied and threatened; libeled and slandered; and most concerning, have seemingly translated the rightful votes of duly-elected fellow Board members into a bizarre and convoluted, if not entirely fanciful, criminal indictment.

Many of those earning the scorn of these self-proclaimed Leary thugs, are some of the very same people, whose energies and commitments helped to get Leary first elected.

In turn, they now appear to have been repeatedly kicked to the curb in favor of this closed-circle of bootlickers; a new generation of Lancaster stalwarts. It would seem that the purpose of these newly-minted handmaidens apparently is to isolate Leary from the ideas of others, especially those of his original base, and then promote themselves as the only alternative to the intrusive thoughts. Those tactics it would seem, is their only path to influence, office, promotion, and perhaps notoriety.

To these minions and lackeys, it would metaphorically seem that there is no egg that is exempt from the omelette; no gulag cold enough; and certainly, no re-education camp distant enough, to safeguard their new-found power.

Very, very sad and disappointing, GC.

[mark blazejewski]

From Informing The Citizens of Lancaster Facebook Page:

Some questions which the WIVB report did not answer...

1. Who and why are 25 individuals receiving $600,000 in compensation and benefits from the Boys and Girls Club?

2. Why are the Villages of Lancaster and Depew not donating over the last 30 years?

3. Why is the County and State not donating?

4. Should all Lancaster Depew Clubs be given $245,000 a year, as they get no compensation or benefits for all their volunteer efforts towards helping the kids?

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news...IOgOhIAvye9Dzg

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064367454572


The WIVB-TV Report In Its Entirety

LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — A major funding decision in the Town of Lancaster is impacting two Boys and Girls Club locations.

The Town of Lancaster has pulled funding for its Broadway Street and Preston Street locations.

For the last few years, the two Boys and Girls Club locations have consistently received $245,000 directly from the Town of Lancaster. But in the adopted budget for 2025, that number is replaced with dashes — meaning as of now, no money has been allocated to the organization.


“There’s a new town supervisor who wants to see where that money goes and what is spent,” said Jeff Kupka, executive director of the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club.

When Lancaster Town Supervisor Robert Leary took office, he said he wanted to take a deep look into finances. After reviewing the clubs’ funding, he said he had some concerns and contacted Kupka for financial records.

“Basically, I took a look at them and what I saw in there was disturbing,” said Leary. “The town was giving them $245,000 a year and we couldn’t see where the money was going.”

“There’s a new town supervisor who wants to see where that money goes and what is spent,” said Jeff Kupka, executive director of the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club.

When Lancaster Town Supervisor Robert Leary took office, he said he wanted to take a deep look into finances. After reviewing the clubs’ funding, he said he had some concerns and contacted Kupka for financial records.

“Basically, I took a look at them and what I saw in there was disturbing,” said Leary. “The town was giving them $245,000 a year and we couldn’t see where the money was going.”

Leary said the organization receives money from outlets other than the town, but it was all put into one shared bank account by the Boys and Girls Club. This led to confusion as to how much was being spent, and where it was being spent.

“They were using that money to pay for salaries, pay for benefits,” said Leary. “That’s not what we agreed to.”

The Youth Development Program agreement was signed between the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club and the Town of Lancaster on Jan. 1, 2024. At this time, the Town of Lancaster was under the supervision of Ronald Ruffino.

Jeff Kupka claims he provided the financial records that he was asked for.


Leary said the organization receives money from outlets other than the town, but it was all put into one shared bank account by the Boys and Girls Club. This led to confusion as to how much was being spent, and where it was being spent.

“They were using that money to pay for salaries, pay for benefits,” said Leary. “That’s not what we agreed to.”

The Youth Development Program agreement was signed between the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club and the Town of Lancaster on Jan. 1, 2024. At this time, the Town of Lancaster was under the supervision of Ronald Ruffino.

Jeff Kupka claims he provided the financial records that he was asked for.