BATAVIA, N.Y. — Western Regional Off-Track Betting has voted to approve Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to be its next president and CEO.
The Public Benefit Corporation Board of Directors held a meeting Thursday in Batavia, where it voted to adopt a contract offered to Brown with an annual salary of $295,000, according to WROTB board chairman Dennis Bassett.
The amount is over $100,000 more than Brown currently makes as Mayor of Buffalo.
Bassett declined to disclose additional details surrounding the contract including any additional perks or benefits that would be afforded to Brown.
He claimed that he couldn't say any more because Brown had not yet signed the deal, and that Brown would not be able to sign it and take the job until receiving a gaming license from state regulators.
In an email regarding Brown, a spokesman for the state gaming commission wrote, "The Commission has received license application material and has identified no impediment to his transition to lead WROTB upon his resignation as mayor of the City of Buffalo."
"The expectation is Mayor Brown will sign the agreement," Bassett confirmed.
Brown, Buffalo's longest serving mayor, would become the highest paid OTB executive in the entire state despite having no experience in the gaming or the hospitality industry.
Niagara County board member Elliott Winter told 2 On Your Side's Dave McKinley earlier this month what made Brown uniquely qualified to run the Western Regional OTB.
"He oversees 3,000 employees with a budget of $600 million, worked in the same capacity for the past 20 years, and we think he could be a valuable asset to the organization," Winter said.
On Thursday, following the vote to hire Brown, Bassett said that it would be beneficial to have a prominent Democrat like Brown in charge of WROTB, given that Democrats control both houses of the state legislature and the governor's office. He also cited the connections Brown has with them.
"We have not had the presence in Albany and in the state legislature that we needed in order to do some of the things that we wanted to," Bassett said. "As we look at sports betting and expansion of our hotel, it's important for us have sustainable growth, and we think Mayor Brown in the new position can can really help us in that area."
"I think the point is well taken by what Chairman Bassett said," said outgoing President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek, a longtime Republican. "If they think there's someone that has a better relationship or could have a better relationship, then I understand that."
Wojtaszek, who has agreed to stay on through the end of the year to help Brown transition to his new role, will walk away with a buyout package totaling close to $300,000.
Once Brown signs the OTB contract, he will have to officially notify the City of Buffalo he is leaving office. When Brown leaves office, Buffalo Common Council President Christopher Scanlon will become mayor.
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