“Do we want the legacy of the ECIDA to be a Family Dollar Store?”

These are the words expressed by Andrew Rudnick at a recent Erie County Industrial Development Board meeting, during which the ECIDA board, which Rudnick is a member of, approved a taxpayer subsidy package to the developer of yet another dollar store in Buffalo on Monday, September 19. Despite the reservations expressed by Rudnick, the ECIDA board approved the $49,000 tax subsidy to the developer, David Pawlick and Creative Structures Services Inc., who plans to build Family Dollar store in South Buffalo.

As you might recall, the ECIDA has been busy approving subsidy deals for dollar stores. In 2010, the ECIDA board unanimously approved a subsidy deal to Pawlick to build a Dollar General store on Buffalo’s East Side.

In 2009, the ECIDA subsidized the development of a Family Dollar store on Buffalo’s West Side, giving close to $300,000 in sales and property tax breaks to Carl Paladino. Read an excellent post on this at the Homeless Alliance of WNY’s blog.

Proponents of these development projects argue that they are worthy of receiving taxpayer subsidies because they reuse vacant properties and involve extensive and costly environmental remediation. Critics, including Rudnick, oddly enough, contend that the ECIDA is following an undesirable trend by continuing to subsidize the development of dollar stores, which mostly offer low-wage jobs.

As CEJ and our allies have advocated for years, the ECIDA and NY’s IDAs need to promote true economic development that creates good, sustainable jobs that pay a living wage and strengthen our communities. Continuing to subsidize low-wage retail is not the answer to the economic challenges facing our state or region, nor is it the legacy we want for our economic development agencies. Instead, we think we should be getting our money’s worth by ensuring that public money creates a public good.