BUFFALO, N.Y. — Acting Buffalo Mayor Christopher P. Scanlon on Wednesday — in his first full day as the city’s chief executive — addressed the controversy surrounding Sewer Authority general manager O.J. McFoy, whose extensive travel schedule was revealed in a 2 On Your Side investigation last month.
“We’ll sit down and talk,” Scanlon said. “Obviously, we’re in a transition period here. I’ve had meetings with all the departments, many of the agencies. But we’ll continue to have those meetings and we’ll talk about it.”
As mayor, Scanlon now controls appointments to the Buffalo Water Board and the Buffalo Sewer Authority. McFoy, an appointee of former mayor Byron W. Brown, served as Water Board chairman while the city failed to fluoridate its water for nine years.
During that time, McFoy spent 297 weekdays traveling to 23 states and two foreign countries for various water conferences, according to public records analyzed by 2 On Your Side Investigates. That has outraged some city residents and some of Scanlon's former colleagues on the Common Council.
Last week, McFoy and 10 other sewer employees traveled to a water environment conference in New Orleans at an estimated cost of $27,000 to taxpayers and ratepayers.
During the last two years, the Sewer Authority board has approved more than $200,000 in travel expenses, according to a database built by 2 On Your Side Investigates using board meeting minutes.
Asked whether that kind of travel concerns him in the midst of a $40 city million budget deficit, Scanlon said, “Yeah, I saw the report on it. You know, obviously, their finances are separate from the city’s. It’s a different agency, but I’ll continue to look into it. I’ll talk to the general manager about it and we’ll see what’s going on.”
McFoy and Sewer Authority Chairman Herbert Bellamy Jr. have been unapologetic about the travel. They say the conferences have helped secure more than $250 million in grants for the agency.