Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers’ Association president Todd Tranum
JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier is voicing its displeasure with Jamestown city leaders for what he says is their unwillingness to listen to local businesses.
The chamber and association together represents nearly 1,000 businesses in our region and is led by President Todd Tranum.
In a media release sent out Wednesday afternoon (The full version can be found below) , Tranum said that despite multiple attempts on his organization’s part to be collaborative and supportive of the city and Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, it’s clear that Mayor Sam Teresi and the Jamestown City Council do not care about the input the business community has on the critical issues facing the city.
Tranum is especially frustrated with the city’s use of BPU profits to close its budget gaps in recent years, despite local business leaders urging the city not to do so, fearing that such a move would drive up utility rates, making it more costly to do business in the Jamestown area.
He also expressed concern that members of the BPU no longer reflect the interest of the business community, but are instead political appointments that will simply help fulfill the mayor’s agenda, rather than represent the needs and concerns of the business community.
Tranum also voiced concern of the lack of movement on the city’s Joint Task Force on Efficiency and Cost Reduction, which was created in late 2014 in an effort to review a series of recommendations made by the Chamber and Association that he said would result in about $900,000 in recommendations for cost reductions. The task force began meeting in January 2015 but went on hiatus on the summer without reaching its goal of bringing forward any final cost-saving recommendations.
On a related note, Teresi and City Council President Tony Dolce announced on Monday that the Joint Task Force on Efficiency and Cost Reduction will resume its meetings beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be on the fourth floor of city hall in the mayor’s conference room and will be open to the public.
Below is the complete version of the release:
City Leaders Unresponsive to Business Interests
Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and MAST
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier (MAST) represent nearly 1,000 businesses in our region. The organizations have a long history of collaboration with public officials. Many public officials ask the organizations for input on policy decisions that concern business.
“Despite multiple attempts on our part to be collaborative and supportive, it is clear that the City of Jamestown Mayor and Council really don’t care about the input the business community has on the critical issues facing the community,” stated Todd Tranum, President & CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier.
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities (BPU) is an incredibly important asset to the region. For decades the BPU has been very well managed and has had solid leadership on the board. We support and applaud the good work, day in and day out, of BPU general manager David Leathers and his team to provide electricity, water, garbage collection and district heat. The BPU is a complicated organization requiring in depth knowledge of good business practices, federal, state and local laws and maintaining relationships with federal and state departments that regulate the industry. David Leathers, his team and prior boards have possessed that knowledge as well as a vision for the future of the utility.
It is important to point out that local businesses are the largest customers of the BPU. It is for that reason that mayors for decades sought input and recommendations from the business community for representation on the BPU. Our input as a business association has not been sought by the Mayor for 15 years regarding this important community asset and our recommendations have been ignored.
“The Manufacturers Association and the Chamber of Commerce are concerned now that the Mayor’s appointment process is not about finding the best people among the business community, but is more of a decision about controlling the message and controlling the future direction of the utility,” stated Tranum. “Otherwise he would have had a dialogue with us and other organizations regarding this very important board. The Mayor has never consulted with us regarding appointees to the BPU, breaking a long tradition of Mayor’s who did seek our input. We believe this bodes poorly for the future of the utility and the community as a whole.”
“In addition to our concerns regarding the BPU it is our perspective that the Joint Task Force on Efficiency and Cost Reduction is simply a facade. In November of 2014 the Mayor created a task force chaired by Councilman Tony Dolce to review a series of recommendations made by the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association that included about $900,000 in recommendations for cost reductions made in November of 2012 for the 2013 budget year. In July of 2015, six months after forming the task force, two and a half years after the recommendations were presented to the Mayor and Council, the task force concluded its work, however we never received the final report or findings from either Mayor Teresi nor Councilman Dolce. The Task Force then took up the issue of dividend payments at our urging since there is no policy or process around the taking of money from the BPU to bolster the city budget. Six months later, here we are with no progress on that issue following yet another City Council and Mayoral raid of the BPU coffers,” Tranum added.
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