First steps

New Control Board president Brian Lipke met with the City Council yesterday. What I didn't know was that this was the first such meeting to have taken place. Good for Lipke.

"The new chairman of the state financial control board took steps Monday to strengthen bonds with the Common Council, holding a first-of-a-kind meeting with all nine lawmakers. Brian J. Lipke did more listening than talking as Council members outlined their stands on everything from a city-county merger to Buffalo's quest for a bigger share of Erie County sales tax revenue. Lipke underscored the need to find solutions that will help Buffalo regain fiscal stability, as opposed to just highlighting the problems. 'I'd like to focus less on ills and more on cures,' he told the Council in a meeting that lasted nearly three hours.

Best of luck to him.