Bruno’s Valentine
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- February
- 14
 Gov. Eliot Spitzer was cloistered in his 2nd-floor office of the state Capitol, huddling with two top aides when the “hot line’’ rang. He picked it up.
 It was Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. He insisted he had to see the governor immediately in the hall. This instant.
 “It kind of took us by surprise,’’ said Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp, who was at the table with the governor and Chief of Staff Rich Baum.
 They strode to the hall. There was a smattering of Republican senators and reporters. In the middle, Bruno with a handful of roses. Consider it a peace offering, just a day after Bruno called Spitzer a bully. Bruno reportedly made the same delivery to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
 Spitzer has also toned down rhetoric, after the pitched battle over state comptroller. Has it made a difference? Dopp said the governor, Senate and Assembly have stepped up talks on issues of civil confinement, campaign-finance reform and workers’ compensation.
 “They never stopped talking outright,’’ Dopp said, “but there seems to be more movement now.’‘
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on Wednesday, February 14th, 2007 at 1:29 pm by Yancey Roy.
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Governor Spitzer is showing the type of courage rarely, if ever, exhibited by public officials, But, while Tom DeNapoli is bereft of fiscal credentials, he is going to be Comptroller for the next four years. Consequently, it is important that the Governor not be discouraged from pressuring DeNapoli to discontinue the disastrous costly policies of his disgraced predecessor. Very few legislators, virtually none in the New York State Assembly, are qualified for positions such as Comptroller. Most major corporation require their Comptroller to be an accountant, many insist on a CPA. The State Attorney General must be a lawyer; the State Comptroller should be an accountant, an actuary, or a chartered financial analyst. Alan Hevesi’s, like Tom DeNapoli, lacked any of these skills. Hevesi was a political science major at Queens College. This played a significant role in the costly chaos the New York State Retirement Fund is in.
Governor Spitzer could seize the initiative by appointing a task force including an accountant (CPA preferred} an actuary and a chartered financial analyst to investigate all aspects of the Comptroller function and press the pleasant though unskilled fiscally Tom DiNapoli to accept their recommendations for reforming the State Comptroller office particularly the pension system while preventing veto power over suggested changes by Silver, Bruno and their minions
The Governor possesses an additional weapon for compelling new Comptroller DiNapoli to reform the pension system. He can reduce state and local government contributions to the pension fund ($2,782.1 million in 2006) to the same amount as government employees ($241.2 million in 2006). The benefits of equalizing the contribution level include reduced real estate taxes for county, city, and town governments plus school districts
In 2002, the state and local government contributions amounted to only $263.8 million. Poor pension fund investment policies by disgraced former Comptroller Alan Hevesi encouraged by lack of oversight by Governor Pataki and the dysfunctional state legislature; were largely responsible for the more than tenfold payment increase to the $2,782.1 million in 2006. The $142.6 billion pension fund assets as of March 31, 2006 could easily have sufficed to pay the $6.15 billion in current annual retiree benefits if invested in good safe bonds paying an average of 4.28% interest
DiNapoli can make amends for lack of oversight from his position on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee of Hevesi’s disastrous investment policies, much in risky speculative ventures. Hevesi’s stewardship of the pension fund was not only bad for the New York State budget but also for county and municipal governments forced as a consequence to raise real estate taxes and/or reduce services. The new Comptroller should be guided very carefully by Governor Spitzer but if he doesn’t the governor will be able to force his hand by insisting that state and local government contributions to the pension fund not exceed what the employees pay.