My email:
Mr. DeBenedetti,
I am writing to express my outrage at your selfish and ignorant decision to ask the Buffalo Bills to forego a $3.56 million dollar payment for maintenance of Ralph Wilson Stadium. How dare you take it upon yourself to take such a foolish step?
According to news accounts, your thinking was that you were obligated to explore all possible ways to reduce the Courty's budget shortfall. Instead of attacking a time-honored Buffalo institution that gives so much back to the community, and one that is so much a part of the hearts of WNY'ers, you chose to flirt with the possibility of giving the Bills a perfect excuse to leave town. I find that to be the height of idiocy.
Why not look in other areas of the budget before taking such a foolish step? Have you considered looking at the bloated Erie County bureaucracy? Surely action in this area could yield much more savings than the paltry $3.68 million you are trying to recover from the Bills. According to Buffalo Business First, the Buffalo-Niagara area has a ratio of only 21.4 citizens to each public employee. By comparison, the Chicago area has a 189:1 ratio; Phoenix has a 191:1 ratio, Portland has a 138:1 ratio, Rochester has a 90:1 ratio, and San Diego has a 131:1 ratio. Do you see any opportunities for savings here?
Yes, there would certainly be economic consequences to cutting public sector jobs, but what is the economic impact of losing the Bills? According to the Greater Buffalo Partnership, Buffalo Bills Task Force, in 1996 the teams’ gross economic impact, reflecting total economic activity resulting from the Bills presence in the marketplace was estimated to be $111.5 million. The Bills employed 1,664 people, and total direct expenditures by fans were estimated to be $31.5 million. Beyond the mere economic impact, one cannot measure the psychological devastation WNY'ers would suffer by losing the Bills to another city. With this type of impact, doesn't the prospect of seeking to recover less than $4 million from the Bills seem extremely short sighted?
I am pleased to see that the Bills treated your letter with the response it deserved and redirected it to Mr.Giambra. Quit playing with fire, leave the Bills alone and and start doing the work of the people by reforming Erie County government.
Sincerely,
TheBillnut