The Problem with the County Control Board
The County Control Board set up by now-disgraced former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi was supposed to bring Erie County needed “adult supervision”.
The problem is that the state put a bunch of petulant kids in charge of it. As former county Comptroller James Hartman argues,
The ill-chosen members of the Erie County control board do not understand their purpose. Every action they have taken in the past two years was intended to expand and perpetuate their role. They have done nothing tangible to help the county. In fact, their actions hurt the county. Let me explain:
First, they have continuously rejected proposed four-year financial plans. The legislation says that plans should be approved on the basis of “reasonable and appropriate” assumptions. Instead, the board believes it can require guaranteed results. By their strange logic, every government should have a control board because the future is uncertain.
More disturbing, having rejected the county-proposed plans, the board has ignored its statutory responsibility to develop an alternate plan. Consequently, the county has operated for two years with no approved financial plan. This ambiguity makes it harder for the county to get its credit rating upgraded.
Second, these board members have used bully tactics in trying to take over the county’s borrowing. The only reason for the control board to borrow would be if Erie County could not borrow for itself. Saving a few million dollars over 30 years is no reason for the county to give up its credit market access.
It either needs to be dismantled, or else the people populating the control board need to be replaced by Governor Paterson. The Control Board has done nothing to help the county’s fiscal house, and instead costs us $1 million per year that could be used to either pay back the taxpayers or for something that’s actually, objectively useful.
hank Says:May 21st, 2008 at 8:13 am
Alan–great update, and a lesson for pols of every party and stripe.
You DO NOT control an out of control government with more (out of control)government.
Big government only exists to make itself bigger. It’s akin to putting a meth-head in control of security and distribution for a methamphetamine operation. Not the best idea.
Government regulation, and overlapping layers of government in NYS and Erie County to the village and town level pile up so fast you need wings to stay above it.
Some economists will say that the larger the size of your government, the smaller and less dynamic your economy will be. Looks like they could be right in this particular case.