LOCKPORT — The Niagara County Legislature on Tuesday approved, on a split vote, a resolution by John Ceretto, R-Lewiston, calling on Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s performance as the sole trustee of the state Common Retirement Fund for state and local government employees.

Democratic legislators Dennis Virtuoso, Renae Kimble, Jason Cafarella and Richard Marasco all voted against Ceretto’s call. Virtuoso, the legislative minority caucus leader, called it “fishy” and pointless.

Ceretto says there are “inconsistencies” in DiNapoli’s actions as the fund trustee. On one hand, he reports the fund is in good shape — his 2009 report said the invested fund showed a 26 percent return — while on the other, his office keeps raising the required payments that local governments must make on behalf of covered employees. Niagara County’s payment was $4.8 million in 2009, $8.5 million, which is 77 percent more this year, and it’s been advised to expect a bill for $10 million next year.

“It’s a tremendous burden to the taxpayers of Niagara County (and) it doesn’t make sense,” Ceretto said. “If the fund is performing well, (the county’s contribution) should be going down, in my opinion.”

Like most other investments, the state retirement fund was hard-hit by the market collapse in 2008, Virtuoso said; a 26 percent gain in 2009 was a gain on the previous year’s loss. The county demanding an investigation of that makes it look foolish, he said.

“Let’s send (Ceretto’s resolution) to committee and study it so we don’t embarrass ourselves,” Virtuoso said.

Members of the Republican-led majority caucus rejected Cafarella’s call to table the resolution pending DiNapoli’s response to a request by Majority Leader Richard Updegrove, R-Lockport, that his office temporarily fix municipal pension contributions at 2009 levels.

“I’m pretty sure Mr. DiNapoli won’t give us that reprieve if we give him a vote of no-confidence,” Cafarella said.

“The cost of (pension contributions) is significant; it represents a large part of the Niagara County tax levy. ... Why be opposed to advising the attorney general of our concerns?” Updegrove said.

Ceretto, who is running for state Assembly in the 138th District, rejected the suggestion his call for investigation of DiNapoli is politically motivated. He genuinely doesn’t understand why, if the fund is getting a good return, taxpayers should be hit up for more funding.

“I want answers, that’s why I ask,” he said. “I’m not out to get Mr. DiNapoli. If he’s doing everything right, that’s fine; let’s look into it and find out. I could say, I’m just a county legislator and this isn’t my thing to worry about, but these payments are a problem for all taxpayers.”

The state charges municipalities a certain percentage of payroll annually to cover retirees vested in the Teacher, Employee and Police/Fire retirement systems; the percentages vary from year to year and fund to fund. All municipalities are charged the same percentages. Ceretto said he’s not aware of any other municipality calling for formal investigation of fund management.