A local organization of community leaders will not financially help Cayuga County start a new economic development entity.

The members of A Call to Action: A Blueprint For Our Region's Future have pulled an offer to front $500,000 for a proposed “first-stop” development agency that would serve the entire county. Instead, the organization now supports a county proposal to revive and publicly fund the Cayuga County Development Corporation.

The Blueprint board made the decision Monday during a meeting, according to a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

“It looks at this time that county leaders do not wish to have private sector resources committed as we envision, but want to move forward on their own, which we can and do support,” the statement reads.

The statement came approximately one week after Daniel Schuster, a county legislator and chair of the county's planning and economic development committee, criticized in a lengthy letter the way the organization has handled the discussions.

In his statement, Schuster supported the proposal to use the CCDC, and he called on the county to refrain from using private money to fund projects for which taxpayers would eventually pay.

Schuster's statement also accused the Blueprint group and the Stardust Foundation of Central New York of trying to influence public policy with private money.

The Blueprint group had maintained that a new agency should be built from scratch because existing agencies have failed to deliver. That organization should be run by a nine-member board that includes four public representatives and five members from the private sector, according to the Blueprint proposal.

The Stardust Foundation initially offered to provide the funds to launch and support such an agency until it becomes self-sustaining.

After releasing his statement last week, Schuster called a special meeting of the planning committee. The meeting, which will take place 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the BOCES conference room, 1879 West Genesee Street Road, Auburn, will focus on the future of economic development in the county.

Guy Cosentino, a member of the Blueprint organization and director of the Stardust Foundation, said Tuesday that neither organization has heard an opinion from county leadership that is different than Schuster's. County officials have also missed numerous deadlines in past months relating to the proposed funds, he said.

“We don't want to force money on anyone who doesn't want to have it,” Cosentino said.

Cosentino also said the Blueprint organization does not plan to have any members attend Thursday's planning meeting.

“The county is saying they're moving toward self-funding.” he said. “We have not heard anything otherwise.”

But Schuster had already decided to take the Stardust Foundation money off the table when he released his statement, Schuster said. He called the special meeting to discuss how the county was going to put together a development project without those funds.

After all, the county would eventually have to fund that position, he said.

“If (the legislators) are comfortable doing this five years from now, they should be comfortable doing it today,” Schuster said.

Schuster said he was surprised to hear that the Blueprint group will not attend the planning committee meeting.

“It would be helpful if they were there,” he said.

Despite the organization's decision to pull the funds, Cosentino said the Blueprint group will still make economic development one of its priorities. People can disagree on particular policies, and things have never been personal, he said.

“Cayuga County can't progress without a coordinated economic development plan,” Cosentino said. “Our eyes are still going to be on the Legislature.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.