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Council debates Erie Basin Marina RFQ after audits flag missing rent and weak controls
Summary
Council members, the comptroller’s office and DPW debated a proposed combined marina/restaurant RFQ after auditors said past operators underpaid rent and recommended stronger internal controls; the proposed contract would route increasing shares of net revenue into an escrow for marina and upland improvements, and the committee sent the item forward without recommendation pending further review.
Buffalo’s Common Council finance committee on Thursday heard a contentious presentation on a proposed operator agreement for Erie Basin Marina after the comptroller’s office and city auditor detailed years of outstanding audit recommendations and apparent contract compliance failures.
Deputy comptroller and audit staff told the committee the marina’s prior operator generated roughly $10 million in revenue over the last decade while the city received little or no rent for several seasons, that contract monitoring was inconsistent and that multiple audit recommendations remain unimplemented. "We have outstanding audit recommendations," City Auditor Sam Bruno said, and he described a 2014 contract that expired in 2024 with operators continuing to run the marina without a competitive, documented agreement for multiple seasons.
DPW Commissioner Nolan Skipper and…
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