(Buffalo News (NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mar. 24--The Erie County Industrial Development Agency is paying $150 an hour for a public relations consultant that is performing work that most similar agencies are handling in house.
The ECIDA's current public relations firm, Travers Collins and Co., does a lot of routine work, such as writing news releases, and last year played a central role in the agency's efforts to defuse criticism of its decision to give a $50,000 loan to One Sunset without vetting the restaurant's application.
The ECIDA paid an even higher fee -- $190 an hour -- to its previous public relations consultant, Eric Mower Associates.
--Outrages & Insights blog: What $150 an hour will buy you ------ That's about what the agency pays for legal help. Harris Beach, the agency's law firm, charges $125 an hour for the time of associate attorneys. The going rate for partners in the firm is $150 to $175 an hour.
County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz is among those who believe that the agency's contract with public relations consultants is an unnecessary expense.
"It doesn't seem to me they need to retain a public relations firm to do what a high-level member of their staff ought to be doing," he said.
"Considering it's an entity that's supposed to be developing business, you'd like to think it's spending its resources developing business rather than defending its actions," he added.
ECIDA officials defend their use of public relations consultants, saying that, among other things, they help facilitate media coverage that informs businesses of what the agency has to offer.
"To get the message out, we need some help. We don't have the staff time to do it," said Al Culliton, the agency's executive director, who said the ECIDA's staff has dropped from more than 25 to 16 in recent years. More here.
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