Centralization of services recommended BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Bob Conner at 462-2499 or bconner@dailygazette.net.
Centralization of services at the county level, including assessment and tax collection, is among the recommendations in a draft report by a state commission. The draft report prepared in March by the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness also recommends that the commissioner of education be empowered to order consolidation of school districts. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, said he wasn’t prepared to go that far. “I don’t know about empowering somebody to order it,” he said. Other recommendations included requiring minimum employee contributions to health plan costs, and consideration of a new Tier 5 in the state pension system with lower-cost benefits. Many of the changes would require approval by state and local governments and labor unions, making their prospects uncertain. The report, which was made public by The Buffalo News, suggested converting many local offices from elective to appointive, including highway superintendent, town clerk and assessor. It proposed making it easier for local governments to consolidate, and harder to split apart. It also proposed state incentives and political support to help bring about the changes. Tedisco said he is in favor of such incentives, and said the Assembly minority’s MetroSTAR legislation (A-4843) provides a possible framework for putting them in place. Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Gov. David Paterson, stressed that the report was a draft. “That report should not be taken as the final report,” he said. The Albany-based commission is scheduled to release its report by the end of this month, according to its Web site. Executive Director John Clarkson could not be reached for comment Monday. The commission was created a year ago by then Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who stressed the need for rationalizing New York’s 4,200 local governments and 6,900 town special districts, making them more effi - cient and saving public money. At the local level, various consolidation efforts have been undertaken over the years in the Capital Region, with only limited success. The commission is chaired by Stan Lundine, who was lieutenant governor for two terms under former Gov. Mario Cuomo. Its members include Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, whose spokesman said she had taken the draft report home to read. Little was named to the commission by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick. Paterson, like most governors before him, has taken to calling for restraint in public spending. On Monday he told state agency heads to come up with cost-saving recommendations by May 16.
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