Local Retirees Head to "the Beach"

Some months ago, we posted about Ontario County's wayward revolving loan program. We included a spread sheet which documented what an inquiry by the Ontario County Board of Supervisors' considered questionable modifications in loan repayment terms. Among the loans on the spread sheet were hundreds of thousands of dollars loaned to the Geneva City IDA which had not been repaid. The loans date back several years, some to 1995, when former Geneva City Manager Rich Rising was Executive Director of the City's IDA.

According to the Canandaigua Messenger, in June 2007, following an investigation into the loan program, the Assistant Director of Economic Development, Roberta Jordans, faced disciplinary action from the County board of Supervisors for allegedly violating rules pertaining to the granting, monitoring, and repayment of these loans. The Messenger states an agreement was reached in December 2007, whereby Jordans resigned, but continued to draw her salary ($98,500 annually) through April 15, 2008.

One month after Jordans's resignation (and four months before her payments from the County ended) the Rochester law firm of Harris Beach announced her appointment as their Manager of Economic Development Assistance. Read the announcement here.

Harris Beach has now hired former Geneva City Manager Rich Rising. Here's how "the Beach" frames it:

They say, "Richard E. Rising of Penfield [Penfield? We thought he was a resident of Geneva?], former city manager for the City of Geneva, has joined the firm as manager of economic development in the firm's Public Finance & Economic Development Practice Group."

In his new position, Rising "advises clients on their economic development projects and helps to expedite those projects to completion. Mr. Rising supports the firm's Public Finance & Economic Development Practice Group attorneys prior to the closing of a transaction by acting as an intermediary between clients and governmental agencies." Intermediaries between 'clients' and government officials is usually considered lobbying.

Making these 'connections' between clients and government agencies seems common practice for the Harris Beach firm. An investigative report in the Democrat and Chronicle, published in October 2004, said: "Look at the major public projects on the region's drawing board, and two players come up again and again: State Senator Michael Nozzolio, one of the region's most powerful Republicans, helps get millions of dollars in state funds for those projects. And Harris Beach LLP, one of the region's largest law firms, gets millions of dollars to do the legal work....Those two players have another tie: Nozzolio is a partner in the Perinton law firm." (Democrat and Chronicle, 10/10/04).

And a recent article in the Syracuse Post Standard lists Harris Beach as claiming $1.2 million in tax breaks through the Empire Zone program, a program intended to help new businesses create new jobs in distressed areas. Geneva holds the only Empire Zone designation in Ontario County.

A few months ago, it was recommended that the council select Harris Beach as the provider of 'interim outside legal counsel.' With Rising joining Jordans and Nozzolio at Harris Beach, it is clear that Harris Beach cannot turn that 'interim' status into 'permanent.' It doesn’t seem appropriate, now, for the City of Geneva to be calling on Harris Beach for input on any economic development projects.

At the federal level, there are laws meant to regulate the 'revolving door' of government officials and private firms doing business with the government. They are aimed at preventing any undue influence on law makers from business firms, lobbyists, and others who mingle with government. When it comes to spending tax dollars, legislators should be making decisions based on sound principles, not private relationships.

We're NOT suggesting there is any law being broken here, but it seems to us that while the Geneva City Council is looking for a new City Attorney, they should also be looking for new outside counsel.