Blog

Tue

September

29

2009
Authorities Reform: Laudable, but Expensive Print E-mail
Written by Rick Swist   
How does one go about opposing a bill that was passed in the name of good government, public accountability, and sound management? That is the dilemma posed by the Legislature’s enactment of A.2209C/S.1537C which creates a new public authorities budget office in the Department of State and adds a raft of reporting requirements and oversight provisions for New York’s public authorities. At the risk of appearing insensitive to the cause of good government, NYPTA has filed a letter with the Governor expressing its concerns about the authorities reform legislation. Our opposition is based upon three issues:
  • The new Public Authorities Budget Office will duplicate many of the responsibilities of the Office of State Comptroller and the Division of Budget, and, by our estimate, it has the potential to require the hiring of well over 100 new state employees at a cost exceeding $10.0 million. Other cost estimates considerably exceed ours.  This comes at a time when a state hiring freeze and revenue shortfalls are having a negative impact on public services statewide.  State aid keeps transit fares affordable, so every dollar spent on duplicative oversight is a lost opportunity to continue to offer maximum public transit service with reasonable fares.
  • Existing mechanisms for public authority oversight are generally adequate to insure sound management and public accountability without adding to the administrative burdens of cash-strapped public transit authorities. To give you an idea of just how much public oversight already exists, here’s a list of the extensive current reporting and disclosure requirements that the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority must fulfill.
  • The new oversight and reporting requirements would increase administrative costs at transit authorities, which can only have negative consequences on transit service. There is no free lunch, and each additional administrative staffer needed to file new reports or seek added government approvals takes away a bus driver or a mechanic who gets transit service onto the street for the riding public.
The bottom line is that this legislation is tantamount to killing a fly with a howitzer. Reacting to the concerns raised regarding a handful of multi-billion dollar authorities, the State is considering a draconian bill that will do more harm than good at most of the small and mid-size authorities that are effectively working within the current oversight framework to deliver public transit and other government services in New York State. While reform is laudable and may be necessary in certain circumstances, one size does not fit all very well in this scenario. A more cost-effective reform bill would zero in on specific problems uncovered at some authorities rather than painting well-managed authorities with a very big and expensive brush.
 

Mon

June

22

2009
Spring Conference Multimedia Print E-mail

spring_imageWe would like to thank our 2009 Spring Conference Sponsors, Speakers and all attendees for your support in making it one of our most successful conferences to date. Be sure to check out photos from the conference in our photo section, as well as our Facebook group, where you can add your thoughts and comments. In our Media Section, you can view and download presentations from some of our conference presenters. Check back often as we are adding more each day!

NYPTA has produced a video which features interviews of some of the major presenters at the conference. Learn more about how the transit industry will serve generations to come. Click Here to view the video on our site or visit our YouTube channel.
 

Mon

June

8

2009
Video: Innovation, Sustainability and Public Transit Print E-mail

This June, transit leaders from around New York State met to discuss public transit innovations and sustainability strategies. You can now view our video from the conference on our site or through our YouTube channel.
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