A call to reform New York state government

As I mentioned in my previous column, "Reforming New York's dysfunctional state government" (Aug. 12-18), reforming state affairs will be easier said than done, requiring political support across party lines. “New Yorkers are frustrated with their government, with the economy, with politics, with the way things are today,"Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver recently said. Not exactly a mea culpa. But apart from Silver, someone's gotta do something!

This plea is an indication that while almost everyone wants reform, we have little real understanding of who the agents of change are, no less what they could hope to accomplish. I believe these concerns can be re-energized and I use a webcast hosted by the Albany Law School last May 27 as my source of information. Its topic? The Public Authority Reform Act.

Ira Millstein, a senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a New York law firm, is a highly respected advocate of reform who participated in the webcast. He has been instrumental in integrating the concepts of accountability and good corporate governance into our system of public authorities. His advice to agency board members was surprisingly direct. He emphasized fiduciary duties, realistic mission statements, personal responsibility and accountability. He also mentioned the expanded role of the Independent Authority Budget Office board and alerted all participants that their cooperation was needed to build a new reform agenda.

Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky (D-Westchester) and State Senator William Perkins (R-30th Senate District) who are co-signers of the newly enacted reform act, also participated in that webcast. Brodsky has long questioned and challenged the operation of public authority and agencies. He is also chairman of the Committee on Corporations. His office recently issued subpoenas to the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation citing “excessive and secretive compensation.”

On Jan. 19, 2010, our own Governor David Paterson announced more than $1 billion in reductions to state agency operations spending, including $500 million in additional across-the-board agency cuts, etc. This pronouncement might serve as a benchmark against which real reform can be measured.

Demands for cutbacks, more efficiency and controls on spending are also evident beyond New York state. On Aug. 9, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he would close a number of military commands, restrict the use of outside contractors and put 50 generals and flag officers out to pasture, saving $100 billion dollars.

In Colorado, a bipartisan coalition of state legislators passed a pension overhaul bill. Governor Richard Lamm was pleased, saying, “You can’t fund the dream of the 1960s on the economy of 2010.”

With stones cast on water, we are now positioned to observe the ripple effect.

This is the second in a series of projected columns on the topic of reforming New York's dysfunctional state government. Peterson, a resident of Rockville Centre, retired as Director-Internal Audit NYNEX Corporate, and serves as a business advisor to Sentry Track, an information technology software company.

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