The Governor’s Commission issued a report that elected officials should stay out of the business operations of “public” authorities. The problem with this is that unaccountable authorities waste money and answer to no one. There is no accountability. Perhaps it is time to end their independence and make them accountable to public officials and the public. Governor Paterson’s creation of an Authority Budget Office is a good first step. If the office does tough strong audits of authority expenditures this would shed a lot of light on the subject and probably save billions in public funds. If that as seen as too much interference with Authority operations, then too bad it is good for the State.
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