Brown’s OTB contract could rise to $315,000 in 2027

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Outgoing OTB CEO Henry Wojtaszek, left, recently appointed CEO Byron Brown, center, and attorney Rajat Shah. Photo by Mark Scheer.

Former Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has the chance to boost his annual salary of $295,000 by another $20,000 within two years as the new CEO and president of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.

At the start of Wednesday’s OTB board of directors meeting — the first attended by Brown since he resigned as mayor to head the public gambling agency — Brown released a copy of his employment contract.

The three-year contract will, as has been previously reported, pay Brown a base salary of $295,000 per year. Under the deal, he will also get a raise of $10,000 — to $305,000 — on Jan. 1, 2026. The agreement calls for Brown to get another $10,000 raise — to $315,000 annually — on Jan. 1, 2027, “contingent upon continued growth and a satisfactory performance evaluation.”

The contract also provides four months severance in the event Brown leaves before his contract expires.

Byron Brown’s employment contract.

As was previously reported by Investigative Post, Brown’s contract includes a car allowance of $800 per month. He is also entitled to two weeks paid vacation and reimbursement for “necessary and reasonable” business expenses with “appropriate documentation and receipts.”

The contract indicates that Brown is eligible for medical benefits through OTB or a $1,500 annual stipend if he opts out.

Brown opened Wednesday’s meeting by acknowledging media requests for copies of his contract, which he said the corporation intended to release on Oct. 31. Brown said he voluntarily agreed to make copies of his contract available on Wednesday.

Investigative Post first requested a copy of Brown’s contract on Sept. 25, the day his hiring was announced. OTB leadership refused to release it because Brown hadn’t  yet signed it.

“We’re not giving you the agreement until Mayor Brown signs the agreement,” OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett said.

When Brown announced his resignation Sept. 30, Investigative Post asked him if he had signed the contract. He said he had, but that he couldn’t release it until OTB authorized him to do so. Attorneys versed in the Freedom of Information Law told Investigative Post at the time that there was no reason the agency or Brown couldn’t release the document at that time.

Investigative Post subsequently asked OTB officials, including its attorney John Owens, for a copy of the contract on three separate occasions but never received a reply or a copy of the document.

Also on Wednesday, the board gave initial consideration to a corporate restructuring plan that would allow Brown to hire up to five people.

The restructuring would create the following positions:

• Chief Administrative Officer/Chief of Staff
• Vice President of Business Development
• Executive Office Manager
• Director of Communications
• Executive Business Administrator

Investigative Post reported Sunday that Steven Casey, former deputy mayor and Brown’s longtime political fixer, began working at OTB in recent weeks. State Gaming Commission records show he was hired as a part-time customer relations specialist.

Brown answered some questions from reporters about Casey Wednesday.

“As I move forward, I would certainly consider him for a position,” Brown said. “It is possible that he could move to full time, but that is not action the board will consider today.”

Brown also said Michael DeGeorge, who served as mayoral spokesman during much of Brown’s tenure in City Hall, could be coming to work at OTB, along with Bernadette Taylor, who served as the mayor’s executive assistant.

After Brown addressed his employment deal, the OTB board went into executive session, which allows public bodies to discuss certain matters in private under New York’s Open Public Meetings Law.

OTB officials said the executive session was needed to discuss plans for a proposed expansion of the hotel at Batavia Downs. An attorney working on the project indicated that the discussion would be “financial” and “business-driven” and would include private business projections and presumptions.

“This would fall under financial,” Bassett said.

Board member Tim Callan, Erie County’s representative on the board, objected, suggesting he did not think the matters to be discussed warranted an executive session.

Bassett responded that the executive session was warranted.

“This is a level of specificity I think that the leadership team wants to not expose the numbers and I think it’s important for us not to do that,” Bassett said.

J. Dale Shoemaker contributed to this report.

Mark Scheer