Politics on the Hudson

Westchester County taxpayers can delve through over 2,000 contracts on a  website aimed at letting them know how their money is being spent.
County Executive Rob Astorino earlier today announced a new web tool that shows whose getting county contracts and how much they’re getting paid.

It’s part of his new “Government Transparency Initiative.” Anything that’s public information under Freedom of Information laws, or FOIL, will eventually go online, the county executive said.

“Anything that’s foilable should be up on the web,” Astorino said. “It’s somewhat mundane, but it’s government at work.”

Democrats on the Board of Legislators say this idea is anything but open: It’s actually misleading because contract searches  have been in operation since former County Executive Andrew Spano’s administration.

Astorino is late to the game, they say.

“For the County Executive to say that ‘now for the first time, the public will be able to view exactly where their tax dollars are going,’  is misleading,” said Legislator Judy Myers, D-Mamaroneck. “Westchester County residents should be truly dismayed by a county executive who attempts to take credit for a transparency initiative that predates his taking office, just as they should be dismayed by his taking credit for the historic 2.2 percent tax decrease in the 2011 Budget that was adopted by the Board of Legislators, even though he vetoed it.”
Legislator Sheila Marcotte, a Republican from Tuckahoe, who months ago had proposed the concept (one that had support from some Democrats, who along with Marcotte also advocated for a database of vendors) of posting contracts online was pleased with this recent push.

“Taxpayers have a right to know where the money being spent,” she said. “This is a no-brainer.”
During Monday’s press conference, Astorino went through contracts doled out by his office and the county board’s and took issue with the their efforts.

“They’ve been talking about it,” he said. “We’re doing it.”

YONKERS — City Councilman John Murtagh is throwing cold water on a school-construction plan announced today by state Assemblyman Mike Spano.

“His ignorance of how the city operates is just mind-blowing,” the Republican councilman said of Spano, his Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 mayoral election.

Click below to read more …

The New York Power Authority’s chairman said Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pick for the authority’s president and CEO is a good one, but he declined to speculate on his own future.

Michael Townsend, a Fairport resident and partner at Monroe County-based Harris Beach LLP, technically saw his term as a NYPA trustee run out in May of this year, but a decision hasn’t been made on whether he’ll be reinstated or released. Townsend said that will be up to Cuomo and Gil Quiniones, who Cuomo tapped as NYPA’s new head earlier today. (The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.)

“I really haven’t heard much one way or the other, and I don’t think it behooves me to speculate on my future,” Townsend said in a phone interview today. “I think that’s for the governor and his staff, in conjunction with the new CEO and president, to decide what’s best for the authority.”

Townsend had good things to say about Quiniones, who had served as acting president since Richie Kessel resigned in July. Specifically, Townsend was impressed with Quiniones’ performance during recent extreme-weather events.

“He’s served as interim (president) before, so we’ve had the chance to evaluate him in that capacity,” Townsend said. “We’ve been very pleased by his performance, and he’s more than capable.”

YONKERS — Building new schools in areas with the fastest-growing student populations would cut busing costs and free up funds for construction, Assemblyman Mike Spano said today.

The Democratic mayoral candidate was scheduled to announce his education capital plan alongside city teachers’ union officials at 2:30 p.m. outside School 22 on Nepperhan Avenue.

Spano will face Republican City Councilman John Murtagh and civil engineer Carlo Calvi, a former county legislator and city councilman, in the Nov. 8 election.

Click below to read the full press release on Spano’s school-building plan.
(more…)

Saying his comments earlier this month were read too deeply, Sen. Tom Libous said today he’s absolutely, no-doubt-about-it, 100 percent opposed to extending an income tax surcharge on New York’s top earners.

Libous, a Republican from Binghamton who serves as deputy majority leader, raised some eyebrows on Oct. 18 when he appeared to be the first GOP senator to leave the door ever-so-slightly open for supporting the “millionaires’ tax.” Libous had hinted that if hydrofracking continued to stall in New York and his flood-ravaged district needed help, he may have to “think outside of the box.”

But in a return appearance on Fred Dicker’s radio show on Talk 1300 AM in Albany today, Libous said he’s definitely against the tax.

“I know I got a few people excited,” Libous said. “I’ve been against it in the past and I’m still against it. I don’t think we should do it.”

“I don’t see the extension of a surcharge or the millionaires tax moving forward at all, and I will unequivocally tell you that I’m against it,” he told Dicker.

Libous again made a push for allowing high-volume hydrofracking in New York in 2012, saying the revenue it would generate would wipe out the need for any new taxes or fees.

He also addressed the news last week that a Department of Environmental Conservation advisory panel was slowing down its work, and its recommendations on a fee structure for natural-gas drillers likely won’t be released until after the state budget process begins.

Still, Libous—an ardent hydrofracking supporter who sits on the DEC panel—said the news isn’t that concerning to him … yet.

“Look—I want to permit this coming year. I think we can,” Libous said. “The fact that we’ve slowed down a little bit, I don’t think it’s a big deal for a couple of months. But if it goes past March, April, then there’s a definite slowdown here and something that we’ll have to throw the alarms up for.”

Gannett’s Albany Bureau has put together the latest list of school salaries for the 2010-11 school year, which ended June 30.

It showed that Westchester and Putnam counties ranked first and second in the state for the average full-time salaries for teachers and administrators last school year, while Otsego and Yates counties paid the least.

And the data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request to the Teachers’ Retirement System, showed wide disparities in teacher and administrators’ pay by regions of the state.

It ranges from the top salary of $506,381 that went to Syosset schools Superintendent Carole Hankin in Long Island to the $166,360 earned by Binghamton schools Superintendent Peggy Wozniak.

The average salary statewide was $57,971, which includes part-time workers and substitute teachers. The average salary was $72,422 for employees who earned more than $15,000 during the school year.

Here’s a database of all school salaries for the year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a pair of appointments today, tapping one-time Lieutenant Governor hopeful Leecia Eve to a top economic development post and recommending Gil Quiniones to serve as CEO of the New York Power Authority.

Eve, who was thought to be a leading candidate to serve as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s running mate before he eventually went with David Paterson, will take over as Cuomo’s deputy secretary for economic development. She’ll take over for Patrick Foye, who Cuomo tapped earlier this month as his pick to lead the Port Authority.

Quiniones had been serving as acting president and CEO of NYPA since Richie Kessel, who unceremoniously resigned in July while under investigation by the state Inspector General. Quiniones has to be confirmed by the state Senate before his title becomes official.

Here’s what Cuomo had to say about the two appointments, via press release:

“Economic development and creating jobs have been my number one priority since I took office, and Leecia is the perfect candidate to continue putting New York back on the path to prosperity,” said Governor Cuomo. “Her extensive credentials and years of public service make her especially suited for this position. Together with the ESD team, I am certain Leecia will play a major role in creating jobs and growing our state’s economy. This is a critical time for New York, and I look forward to working with Leecia.”

“He is a dedicated public servant who knows every aspect of the Power Authority- from the power lines to the extraordinary potential to harness New York’s energy resources to support economic development and job creation. In addition, Gil will ensure that NYPA continues to forge a path towards making our state more energy efficient,” Governor Cuomo said.

Accepting an award in Manhattan last night from a major gay-rights group, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the successful push for same-sex marriage in New York “achieved historic social progress” that is “resonating on so many levels.”

At the Empire State Pride Agenda’s annual gala, Cuomo spoke about the national significance of the New York law, saying it was a “victory for society” and urging a repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Cuomo, who generally has concentrated his public comments on state issues and stayed out of most federal issues, aggressively called for federal anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws for the LGBT community.

“This message is going to resonate all across this nation,” Cuomo said. “Part of it is the power of New York, because this is New York, and when New York does something everyone else watches and everyone else notices.”

Cuomo was introduced by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and took the stage to gay-rights activist Lady Gaga’s “On the Edge of Glory.”

“On the topic of gay marriage, I just want you to remember there is good news and there is bad news. The good news is marriage. The bad news is there are no longer any excuses,” Cuomo joked. “You will now feel the pressure, and you will get the questions and the looks. They can do it with a look, and with one word they can do it: Sooooo?”

(A h/t to Capital Tonight for spotting the YouTube video.)

Here are the governor’s remarks:

A former state Department of Environmental Conservation employee was charged today with spending more than 500 work hours on sex chat lines and incurring more than $20,000 in improper phone charges to the state, Inspector General Ellen Biben announced.

Edward Reilly, 52, of Delmar, Albany County, worked for the state 28 years and resigned Aug. 4 at a final salary of $88,256. He was a DEC environmental engineer, Biben said.

In a criminal complaint today in Albany City Court, Reilly was charged with making more than 760 calls to “premium rate telephone services” during a roughly six-year period from his office phone and conference room phones at DEC headquarters in downtown Albany.

Biben said the calls were mostly to phone numbers in the Caribbean and added up to $20,125 billed to the DEC.

“The charges allege he not only misappropriated state resources but that he did it while on the taxpayers’ time,” Biben said in a statement. “Theft from the state will not be tolerated, and my office will continue to vigorously root out individuals who abuse the public trust.”

The chat lines included the VIP Sensual Chat, VIP Club Sensual Chat, Quest Chat, Secret Encounters, Metrovibe and Local Chat.

Reilly was charged with third-degree grand larceny and five counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, all felonies.

He was arraigned before Albany City Court Judge Rachel Kretser and released pending further court action. The top charge carries a maximum prison sentence of two-and-a-third to seven years, Biben said.

In the complaint, Reilly admitted that he “knew that the use of the phones was inappropriate.”

Here’s the complaint.

Edward Reilly Complaint

A week after the city of Albany chose not to enforce a curfew on a park taken over by Occupy Albany, the protesters have turned their sights on the city’s mayor.

Gas-drilling protesters will march from the park—located across the street from the state Capitol—to Albany City Hall at 4:30 p.m. to speak out against Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings’ veto of a ban on hydrofracking within city limits. (It’s a short march; the park also sits directly across the street from City Hall.)

Albany Police have yet to kick anyone out of the park after the 11 p.m. curfew, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week that the state would “enforce the law” and evict anyone staying in the state-owned portion. (The park is split in two by an invisible line, with half owned by the city and half by the state.)

That led to an apparent rift between Cuomo and Jennings, his long-time supporter. Cuomo has increasingly become the target of the Occupy Albany protest, with about 100 demonstrators airing their grievances in the Capitol’s War Room yesterday, steps away from the governor’s office.

It’s not clear if the hydrofracking march is officially being endorsed by the leaderless Occupy Albany movement as a whole, or if only certain members are planning on participating. The press release was sent out by the Albany branch of Frack Action, an Ulster County-based anti-hydrofracking group.