Saturday, June 12, 2010

Agency proposes eliminating many public authorities

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Two New York lawmakers want to shutter 129 public authorities and agencies established to address urban renewal, industrial development, waste management and other public enterprises.

Assemblymen Sam Hoyt and Richard Brodsky say the state's new Independent Authorities Budget Office recommended the closings in its review of more than 700 quasi-governmental agencies.

Many are currently dormant.

Hoyt, a Buffalo Democrat, says taxpayers have had to deal for years with the organizations, which have been accountable to nobody.

Brodsky, a Westchester County Democrat, says this is the first and easiest step toward reform. Earlier Tuesday, Brodsky said he's pressing the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. for information about its finances after it paid almost $1 million in bonuses to two of its top executives.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

They steal from the taxpayer, legally. I don't think we need so many people on the public dole and I mean politicians elected and appointed.

Anonymous said...

How about tweeder programs and corporate welfare to developers as a start?

Steve Behar said...

This is one of the first reforms needed in the state. These "authorities" have virtually no oversight and rarely if ever get audited. Many of the heads of these authorities make hundreds of thousands of dollars and answer to no one!

Many of the authorities were set up for specific purposes that are no longer necessary. They need to be better controlled and most of them should be abolished.