Guest Column: ‘Reform: Running on empty’

Hal Peterson

This column reviews the “Annual Report on Public Authorities in New York State,” just released by the Authorities Budget Office (ABO). Its publication is probably one of Albany’s best kept secrets. Produced by a professional and dedicated staff of internal auditors, the report clearly outlines why the reform legislation enacted over the past six years will not even come close to being realized. We should understand why.

With the cost of services well beyond supportable levels, our elected officials seem to maintain credibility by marketing “reform” legislation. Problem “A” is addressed by Solution “B” and no one will be any the wiser when “C” arrives.

Sounds too cynical? Not really, when we consider the following.

Problem “A:” The taxpaying public is served by 46 state and 445 local authorities with total spending of about $53 billion annually. These authorities are not self-sustaining, accumulating hundreds in millions of dollars in debt issued by the state or backed by its moral obligation or direct appropriations. These agencies are governed by more than 3,300 board members, many appointed by the governor, and operating with an unjustifiable degree of autonomy for many years. To steal a misquoted phase from the Tom Hanks “Apollo 13” movie, “Houston, we have a problem.”