Town of Lancaster cuts funding for Boys and Girls Clubs

LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — A major funding decision in the Town of Lancaster is impacting two Boys and Girls Club locations.

The Town of Lancaster has pulled funding for its Broadway Street and Preston Street locations.

For the last few years, the two Boys and Girls Club locations have consistently received $245,000 directly from the Town of Lancaster. But in the adopted budget for 2025, that number is replaced with dashes — meaning as of now, no money has been allocated to the organization.

“There’s a new town supervisor who wants to see where that money goes and what is spent,” said Jeff Kupka, executive director of the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club.

When Lancaster Town Supervisor Robert Leary took office, he said he wanted to take a deep look into finances. After reviewing the clubs’ funding, he said he had some concerns and contacted Kupka for financial records.

“Basically, I took a look at them and what I saw in there was disturbing,” said Leary. “The town was giving them $245,000 a year and we couldn’t see where the money was going.”

Leary said the organization receives money from outlets other than the town, but it was all put into one shared bank account by the Boys and Girls Club. This led to confusion as to how much was being spent, and where it was being spent.

“They were using that money to pay for salaries, pay for benefits,” said Leary. “That’s not what we agreed to.”

The Youth Development Program agreement was signed between the Depew-Lancaster Boys and Girls Club and the Town of Lancaster on Jan. 1, 2024. At this time, the Town of Lancaster was under the supervision of Ronald Ruffino.

Jeff Kupka claims he provided the financial records that he was asked for.

“I dropped those off the next day and we didn’t really hear much,” said Kupka. “I thought we were in, and then we found we weren’t not too long ago.”

Despite the confusion, the opportunity for the clubs to receive financial support from the town is still on the table. Supervisor Leary wants to hear details on potential programs at the clubs, beyond what the town provides already through its Park and Recreation department and its Youth Bureau.

Leary also said if both parties come to an agreement, any new programs will be under the supervision and control of the town — something he said did not happen under the previous administration.

Kupka said he is looking forward to further discussions with the town and hopes an agreement can be reached.

“This isn’t about mismanagement about any kinds of funds,” said Kupka. “This is really about children in our community that I was a product of.”

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Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.

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