Brenton Davis, ECGRA spar over gaming, Right-to-Know laws amid scrutiny of finances

Editor's note: The salary of ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood has been updated from a previous version of this article.

Erie County Executive Brenton Davis, who, in recent weeks, has publicly criticized and threatened to dissolve the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, is now asserting the news media has "politicized" his position and that he's merely pursuing transparency.

Davis, who informed the ECGRA board in January that he was engaged in "serious discussions” about dissolving the authority and threatened to do so if the board failed to reduce its operating costs, didn’t use the word “dissolve” Thursday during his 15-minute speech to the board.

Rather, Davis said he was fulfilling his role as county executive, ensuring ECGRA’s expenses and financial practices were above board ― or as he put it Thursday, just “taking a look under the hood.”

“Some call it bullying; I call it accountability,” Davis said.

Board members and County Council members, as well as several recipients of ECGRA grant money, have nonetheless viewed the county executive’s words since January as intimidation.

Appearing in large numbers before County Council on Tuesday and the ECGRA board on Thursday, grant recipients from across the county ― to include the Erie Art Museum, Our West Bayfront, local universities and leaders in Edinboro, Girard and North East boroughs ― voiced their support for the authority.

“ECGRA represents what is possible for Erie County,” North East Borough Manager Patrick Gehrlein told council Tuesday. “They are the spark in our area that we need to support and continue to support.”

Davis, in response, said he’s never questioned the results of ECGRA; rather, as county executive, he said it's his responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent most effectively.

He blamed the news media for creating a "frenzy" around his scrutiny; this, despite his recent public accusations, without evidence, that ECGRA has been a “slush fund of walking-around money” and an enabler of predatory lending.

Davis, ECGRA disagree over Right-to-Know procedure

Much of Davis’ comments Thursday revolved around his requests for information from ECGRA ― and what he’s considered ECGRA’s delay in responding.

On Feb. 1, Davis sent a letter to the ECGRA board requesting a complete accounting of the authority’s loan portfolio, as well as years-worth of financial records, including credit card statements, contracts, check detail reports and every payment made to ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood.

Email correspondence obtained by the Erie Times-News showed that Wood responded to Davis on Feb. 2, indicating ECGRA would treat the request like a standard Right-to-Know request, requiring a 30-day extension to gather the materials.

Davis, in turn, rejected the extension, insisting, as county executive, he was the direct supervisor of ECGRA as per the Home Rule Charter and Erie County administrative code and didn’t have to go through the Right-to-Know process.

In a Feb. 7 letter to the board, he elaborated on this position, insisting “any attempt to categorize an official inquiry from an elected official of ECGRA’s creating body, the County of Erie, as a ‘Right to Know Request’ is simply incorrect under the Right to Know Law and will not stand.”

Davis included a memo from County Solicitor Bill Speros, who concluded that it was within the county executive’s powers and duties to supervise the administration of ECGRA and request that ECGRA provide the necessary financial documents.

On Feb. 9, ECGRA Solicitor Tim Wachter sent a memo to Wood and Board Chairman Dale Barney, stating that while he agreed that Davis has the authority to request the documents, the Home Rule Charter is “silent as to the time periods and processes to be used to comply with such a request.”

As such, he stated, it is “practical and reasonable to utilize the timeline framework provided by the Right-to-Know Law.”

“As the county executive does not have the power to dictate the day-to-day activities of ECGRA, the county executive cannot dictate the timeline governing the provision of those records,” Wachter stated in the memo.

Davis stood by his position Thursday, telling the board that ECGRA was displaying a “resistance to transparency.”

“I come to you as your direct governmental oversight duly elected by the people of Erie County to protect their taxpayer funds,” he said. “What we’ve identified here is that ECGRA doesn’t seem to have or think it has any direct oversight.”

Davis added that County Councilmember Charlie Bayle had also requested Amazon purchase records from ECGRA and has yet to receive a response.

The Home Rule Charter, however, indicates that no individual member of council has any authority unless that authority is delegated by council acting as a body.

Wood told Davis that he can expect the requested information in 30 days. Wachter confirmed that ECGRA is acting in compliance with state law.

Board approves Wood’s contract extension

The ECGRA board Thursday voted 4-2 in favor of a five-year contract extension for Wood. Davis criticized Wood’s pay increase and severance package.

Wood’s contract, which was provided to the Times-News, indicates that Wood’s employment would be extended for another five years at an annual salary of $141,508, an increase from $125,000 that was approved in 2020.

Wood, if terminated, would also be entitled to payment of his salary and any applicable benefits for one year, according to the contract.

Voting in favor were board members Barney, Whitey Cleaver, Kelly Hess and Angela Amatangelo. Voting against were board members Gary Winschel and Carol Loll.

Davis, along with a handful of state lawmakers, co-signed a Feb. 1 letter to ECGRA, requesting the authority refrain from any long-term obligations, such as Wood’s contract, until a third-party audit was completed.

Wachter informed the board in a Feb. 6 memo that none of the letter’s signatories, including state Sen. Dan Laughlin and state Reps. Bob Merski and Pat Harkins, have the authority to direct or pause board activities.

After the meeting, Wood told the Times-News he has yet to hear from the Auditor General's office.

He added that he's ready to move forward with ECGRA's business.

In his report to the board and the public, he noted that ECGRA operates with the "highest level of scrutiny," posting online its expenses each month, as well as its programs, financial reports and a public record of all money moving through ECGRA from the state. He added that ECGRA will begin to post its Amazon purchases as well.

He also defended ECGRA's loans to community development funding institutions like Bridgeway Capital, indicating that CDFIs were created to provide market rate financing to distressed areas and are the "opposite of predatory lenders" as they are not a for-profit entity.

"The fact is our mission is clear; our programs are intentional ― they're well-designed to be transparent and accessible to applicants ― and above all to avoid any political influence," Wood said.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Scrutiny of ECGRA sparks backlash; Davis says goal is transparency