County tables agreement to fund NYRI opposition

NORWICH – County leaders on Monday agreed to table a second round of local dollars requisitioned to afford legal expenses in the fight against New York Regional Interconnect, Inc.

A resolution authorizing $50,000 to Communities Against Regional Interconnect (CARI) expressed the county’s “staunch opposition to the transmission line” but contained a caveat: The sum would be approved only “upon similar participation of other counties.”

“As soon as the other counties sign on, we’ll make it available to them. We shouldn’t step out of those bounds,” Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker said. Of the eight counties represented by the CARI, Decker said two were also on the fence and one had dropped out.

Town of Norwich Supervisor James J. McNeil led the charge to table the resolution. “We are limiting our contribution based on what kind of participation? How many counties will we wait for? Where do we draw the line?” he asked.

Town of Coventry Supervisor Janice O’Shea said she couldn’t “in good conscience” vote for the resolution. “This has the feeling of a bottomless pit. I have not seen any accounting from legal services (retained by CARI) and this is a totally different organization than last year,” she said.

Six counties paid out $50,000 each and two paid out $10,000 to the New York State Association of Counties in 2006. The association is not a conduit for CARI’s litigation against the power line this year, however. Decker said a financial statement received two weeks ago from CARI reported that the funds accumulated from the eight counties had been spent on legal fees.

During the discussion period for the resolution, Decker said that members of the board had received “inaccurate” e-mails and telephone calls from CARI regarding Chenango County’s commitment to the fight. “We are the first ones to sign on for the second round, and we have signed a letter of engagement which ties us forever,” he said, lamenting what he called the organization’s “pressure tactics” to sign on again.