With nearly $500,000 owed to taxpayers, Onondaga County is not yet collecting any of the debt from the Syracuse Chiefs.
But the minor-league baseball team will have to pay up in the future, says at least one county official.
“It’s a whole new situation now,” said Bill Meyer, (R-Cicero) who became county legislature chairman in the fall. “I’m the new chairman. When I was going through my duties of this job, that was one of them that came up. It’s what the people are paying me for. Jeez, why would we not make sure it gets done?”
Meyer and other county officials did not give specifics on how the county plans to collect $496,479 from the Chiefs. County Comptroller Bob Antonacci said his office is not commenting publicly on the debt.
At issue is an audit released by the county in December. The audit says the Chiefs owe the county $496,479. The team said that number was too high. But it ignored a Feb. 28 deadline to submit a response to the audit.
The missed deadline leaves the taxpayers’ money unaccounted for and continues a pattern of missed county-imposed deadlines by the Chiefs in recent years.
The Chiefs’ debt was accumulated from January 2004 to December 2006. The audit says the final figure of $496,479 comes after combining the Chief’s debt to the county and money the county still owes the team. The debts look like this:
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The Chiefs owe the county $610,262 for utility bills.
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The Chiefs owe the county $46,727 for a share in concession sales at county events.
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The county owes the Chiefs $100,655 for maintenance bills.
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The county owes the Chiefs $59,255 in lost concession revenue.
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The county owes the Chiefs $600 for other improvements to Alliance Bank Stadium.
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Bottom line: $496,479 owed by the Chiefs to the county.
The debts and money exchanges come from a management agreement between Onondaga County and the Chiefs. The agreement says the Chiefs will pay for daily upkeep of Alliance Bank Stadium. This includes grounds keeping, utilities, lighting and trash removal. The county is responsible for repairs to the stadium.
The audit also says if the Chiefts don’t pay up, the team can face penalties: “Legal action by the county should be used to enforce payment.”
But in an interview, legislative chairman Meyer argued that legal action should not be necessary. The county’s new leadership, he said, will concentrate on seeing that the team meets its deadlines.
“We’re not worried about what to do if they keep missing deadlines,” he said. “They’re not going to keep missing deadlines.”
In another missed deadline, the Chiefs failed to submit their marketing plans for the season to the county. This year’s deadline was March 1 and marked the 11th year in a row the Chiefs have failed to submit their plan.
The team met with county legislators on March 6 to discuss the plan.
Since becoming the country legislature’s chairman, Meyer has sought a closer relationship with the team for the county. In an interview, he argued that the marketing plan is crucial for the team this year. After the Chiefs’ 2007 season, Alliance Bank Stadium’s old AstroTurf was removed and replaced with natural grass. The project cost the county $1.5 million.
“It’s not complicated,” Meyer said. “The community invests a lot of money into that stadium. This is a new deal for them. We need to know what they’re doing to get people to the stadium.”
(Heath D. Williams is a junior newspaper major.)
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