Brenton Davis warns Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority to reduce costs or be dissolved
Erie County Executive Brenton Davis took aim at the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority on Thursday, insisting its “skyrocketing” expenses were a disservice to taxpayers and grounds for the authority’s dissolution.
Speaking at an ECGRA board meeting at Penn State Behrend, Davis said his administration is having “serious discussions” about the future and necessity of ECGRA and whether its function would be better served, not as an independent authority, but as a part of county government.
“We are the only county of 67 that operates with a gaming revenue authority,” Davis said. “The others allocate their gaming revenue as a single line item under the county.”
Davis said ECGRA, which has three full-time staff members and a seven-member part-time board, incurs significant operating costs. Citing an audit report from Erie-based accounting firm Maher Duessel, Davis said ECGRA’s operating expenses jumped from $387,018 in 2021 to $515,721 in 2023.
He added that ECGRA, which, among other things, was established to keep county taxes low, sits on $17.4 million in savings at a time when county residents are dealing with a 10.9% tax hike.
"How can we in good conscience significantly raise taxes when we're sitting on a savings account of $17.4 million?" he asked the board.
Davis further argued that county government could accomplish the same grant-making tasks as ECGRA using far less operating expenses, citing ECGRA's costs for office space, marketing and website design.
He implored the board to find ways to reduce their costs and added that it only takes four votes on County Council to dissolve the authority.
"I think the cost of ECGRA has skyrocketed to the point where it's no longer beneficial to the taxpayer," Davis told the board. "Now, if ECGRA wants to continue to operate, I think in good faith we need to reorganize."
“(But) if you continue to move in ways that cost the taxpayer, we’ll have no other option other than to dissolve this authority and bring it all back in under county government to let council manage it like they do the other half of the gaming revenue,” he said.
Davis slams ECGRA executive director’s pay hike
Davis also called out a proposed salary hike for ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood, whose employment contract was on the meeting agenda Thursday.
The 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 $137,386, 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.
Davis described the pay hike and severance package as “lunacy,” and that not even he, as county executive, who oversees a larger budget, gets such benefits.
He requested that the board approve only a temporary six-month extension to Wood’s employment as the board reassesses expenses.
After an executive session, the board unanimously voted to table the contract and to re-address the matter at February’s board meeting.
Wood was hired in 2011.
Wood: ‘This type of political takeover has been attempted before’
Speaking with the Times-News, Wood pushed back against the county executive, insisting ECGRA is not only a respected grant-making agency that operates for transparency and accountability, but was established to avoid this kind of “political gamesmanship.”
“I'd say this type of political takeover has been attempted before,” he said. “But the ECGRA model has proven time and time again, with the last 15 years of providing grants, that any attack on ECGRA is an attack on the communities that we serve.”
Board member Whitey Cleaver, who served on County Council when it established ECGRA in 2008, also disagreed with Davis, stating ECGRA, as an authority, was meant to be separate from political influence.
County Councilmember Rock Copeland added that the county executive's "obsessive need to interfere in every body where he does not have authority is extremely disturbing."
"Davis needs to understand that independent authorities exist for a reason," he said. "It is improper for him to infer that he has any ability to direct their business."
County Council formed ECGRA in 2008. As a host county of Presque Isle Downs & Casino, the county receives a share of the casino’s annual gross revenue — about $11 million annually. About $5.5 million goes to Erie County government. Another $1 million supports the Erie County Land Bank.
ECGRA invests its share, $4.5 million, into municipalities, neighborhood associations and other nonprofit agencies, including nine of the county’s leading cultural and heritage institutions, for a range of programs, events and community improvements that benefit the public.
Since 2008, ECGRA has dedicated more than $76 million to impact investments and grants that touch every corner of Erie County, according to its 2023 annual report.
ECGRA awards grants to combat blight: ECGRA awards $350,000 in grants to spur neighborhood renewal, combat blight
Build a Better Future grant: Erie's Black Wall Street, Impact Corry among recipients of ECGRA's 'Building a Better Future' grant
A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Brenton Davis urges ECGRA board to reduce costs or face dissolution
