Consolidation is the Answer: Well, It’s a Start

The story is getting old. Governor Paterson’s says state agencies need to be consolidated to achieve operating economies. He also says municipal taxing jurisdictions need to be consolidated for much the same reason and in order to lower the real property tax burdens for New Yorkers. In addition, lower property taxes would attract more businesses to stay in New York State or to locate or relocate to New York State. The more businesses that stay and the more that locate in New York State in turn means more employment and more taxes collected and a reduction in our budget deficits; well, you get the picture.

It’s obvious to me, and to most taxpayers, that these consolidations would achieve those intended results. So, what are we waiting for? Why aren’t taxpayers lobbying their local elected officials to put forth plans for the consolidations? I would imagine this would be a highlight of the Tea Party platform and likewise the Coffee Party platform. In fact, I will advance this initiative at the next Coffee Party meeting I attend.

For whatever reason, it’s just not happening. I’ve been campaigning for it for at least the last decade. Some argue that the politicians don’t want to lose any of their base and their small little serfdoms. But, the point again is that the politicians shouldn’t be driving the bus; the taxpayers like us should be driving the bus not just paying for the gas.

What started me on this rant this morning is I saw a letter to the editor in this morning’s Times-Union where the writer was bemoaning the fact that the 600+ school districts in New York State should be consolidated for the exact same reasons put forth at the top of this article. The writer suggests that each county have one school district instead of many separate districts. This would cut greatly cut down on administrative costs and operational cost. The goal is to reduce the school tax burden for New York residents to achieve the same benefits as would a reduction to the municipal real property taxes.

 Again, the guy makes sense. In fact, in South Carolina, school districts are aligned by county. And school taxes are substantially lower in South Carolina. I haven’t researched other states but I plan to shortly. I also plan on bringing up this issue with all of the elected officials that represent my home district. I suggest you do the same.

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

A Comprehensive Plan for the Revitalization of Downtown Albany: The Final Pieces

Here are the final two actions of my plan

Creating an Art Colony: Housing and Studios for Visual and Performing Artists

It seems like most major, successfully revitalized cities and towns, whether they are large, medium or small, have developed and set aside specific areas of their municipality for both the visual arts and performing arts and the related artists associated with each genre.

Housing units should be designated in specific areas so artists of both genres will migrate there to live and work. This may necessitate landlords offering artists reasonable rents in an effort to make it worthwhile and attractive for them to move into the Art Colony (Center City NE & SE) generally along Broadway and Pine Street. Perhaps local universities and colleges with visual and performing arts programs could also locate satellite campuses downtown.

Leases with incentives could be written with reduced rental rates for the first three years of the lease, with rates gradually increasing to normal market rates after the first five years of occupancy. The buildings could also include common areas and studios for artists to display their art, and the landlord could receive a percentage of the art that is sold in this common area. Landlords could also receive some form of subsidy from the city or county to make up for some of the reduced rents.

If tourists, Center City day workers and Center City residents are expected to stick around the downtown area, you need to give them things to see and do, either in art studios or in small theaters. There needs to be museums and parks that are open on weeknights and on the weekends.

Tourists and residents from the greater Capital District need to be drawn to the area. They need to have things to do that will bring them, and keep them, in downtown Albany.

Encourage Ancillary Businesses to Relocate and Establish a Presence Downtown

The entire success of the revitalization plan also hinges on the downtown area being able to attract ancillary businesses that would be needed to support Center City residents, Center City day workers, visitors and tourists. The idea is to provide the types of goods and services that each of these categories of people would expect to see in the Center City of a major city when they travel into it to live, work or play.

Residents should expect the availability of the following goods and services, and although it could be argued they always have the opportunity to drive outside the Center City to obtain them, prospective residents will be expecting to see them close to home:

• Corner Grocery Store
• Wine and Liquor Shop
• Dry Cleaners
• Florist
• Gift and Card Shop
• Cigar and Smoke Shop with a Lounge
• Diner/Restaurant (Late Night and Breakfast)
• Wine Bar
• Newsstand w/Magazines (Lottery ticket outlet)
• Public Restrooms
• Visitor/Information Center

 Again, parking for employees and patrons is a major consideration to be considered. The use of outlying park & ride shuttle lots could be a solution for tourists and visitors; or the use of State and municipal parking lots that are not in use on weeknights and the weekends is another option.

 Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

A Comprehensive Plan for the Revitalization of Downtown Albany: The Details

Here  are the next two major actions that need to occur in my proposed revitalization plan.

Increasing the Number of Residential Housing Units

Attempts should be made to secure or obtain ownership to as many downtown buildings as possible for conversion to residential housing. The ownership of the buildings could rest either with the city or with private developers under an incentivized program offered by the city. The buildings acquired should be specifically adaptable for conversion from offices to apartments and condos. Incentivized Programs with incentives from the city and county for new construction should also be established.

If a substantial increase in downtown residents isn’t achieved, all other aspects of this revitalization plan will not work. This action is the cornerstone of the plan. Every attempt should be made to work with the Albany Local Development Corporation, the city and county of Albany to maximize the use of their expertise and their use of any incentive programs for this type of endeavor; such as low interest loans, subsidizing rents, etc.

Parking for personal vehicles is a major consideration and a potential stumbling block that needs to be addressed. Of course the need for vehicles would be diminished if the residents live closer to work and could either walk to work or ride a bike, which should be encouraged in any event.

Once the housing units are established then the attention needs to be turned to encouraging businesses to support residential life need to be encouraged to locate downtown, perhaps even in a central location or building.

Develop a “Neighborhood” Concept in the Greater Downtown Area

I believe in the adage “If you build it, they will come” with the qualifier “if it’s attractive and economical to them”. Creating housing has already been tried in downtown Albany and it has failed. The Pastures was a dismal failure and an embarrassment. The most important three words in developing real estate are “Location; location; location”. As an example, The Pastures was arguably in the worst location the city of Albany could have built it at that time.

I think the first thing that should be done  is to establish four separate and distinctly identifiable quadrants for the greater downtown area. Each would have its own peculiar identity, similar to many major metropolitan cities. Most major cities have a Chinatown, and Italian section, a Jewish section, an artsy section ala SoHo in Greenwich Village (visual arts), and a theatre or performing arts district.

My suggestion is that we designate these four quadrants in Albany, with State Street as the dividing line, as NoNo (North of North Pearl); SoNo (South of North Pearl); NoSo (North of South Pearl); SoSo (South of South Pearl). Or the different areas could simply be named as they are in Atlanta, NW; NE; SW; SE.

In this scenario, with State Street the common boundary in the center:

• NE – Broadway up to North Pearl and across to Clinton Ave (or to the Leo O’Brien Federal Building)
• NW – Eagle Street (or Swan Street) down to North Pearl and across to Clinton
• SE – Broadway up to South Pearl and across to Madison Avenue
• SW – Eagle Street (or Swan Street) down to South Pearl and across to Madison Avenue

The common name for the entire area would be Center City as it is in Philadelphia and many other cities. It would make it easier to find things when you are visiting Albany as a tourist. And people who live in Center City would respond to a question as to where they live or where a restaurant is located by saying it’s on State Street in Center City SE, if the restaurant was Jack’s Oyster House or 74 State.

At the present, there is no identifying name to the downtown area in Albany, other than “downtown”; and that carries a negative connotation to almost everyone in and around the Capital District.

My suggestion would be to make NE and SE areas for residential housing units and studios and galleries for artists. The Broadway Arts Center is currently at 488 Broadway and the Albany Center Gallery is located on Columbia Street just off Broadway.

More generic residential housing units could be located in any of the quadrants, but I would suggest the closer they are to the central dividing lines of State Street and Broadway the better. My reasoning is that the majority of state workers and private companies are within a short walk to State Street and Broadway. These are the major buildings housing the majority of these workers and are all within a six block walk to State Street and Broadway:

• Department of Environmental Conservation (EnCon)

             Broadway (NE)

• Federal Offices – Leo O’Brien Office Building

             Broadway (NE)

• Dormitory Authority State of New York (DASNY)

             Broadway (NE)

• Office of Temporary and Disability Services (TADA)

             North Pearl Street (NW)

• Office of the State Comptroller (OSC)

             State Street (SW)

• Governor’s Office and the Division of the Budget – NYS Capitol

              Between State and Washington Avenue

• The Senate & Assembly Offices – Legislative Office Building

              State Street (SW)

• Various State Offices – Empire State Plaza (SW)
• State University of New York – D&H Plaza

              Broadway (SE)

• Department of State

             Corner of Broadway and State Street (NE)

• Various State Offices – A.E. Smith Office Building

             Corner of Washington Avenue, State Street and South Swan Street

• Various State Offices – Twin Towers

             Washington Avenue (NW)

Again, theses actions in furtherance of my proposed revitalization plan doe downtown Albany are being put forth to create some thought and some dialogue on the issue. If it’s not being talked about and debated, it’s not getting worked on. So let me hear from you or leave a comment.

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

A Comprehensive Plan for the Revitalization of Downtown Albany: My Take

Over the last ten years I’ve been watching as Albany has been tried to figure out how to revitalize downtown Albany. Let’s see, there was the New York State sponsored Albany Plan which brought two new buildings to downtown Albany: One for the Department of Enironmental Conservation and one for The New York State Comptroller; a new building and parking garage at 677 Broadway; a new building housing the Dormitory Authority State of New York; a new Hampton Inn hotel; and numerous new bars and restaurants.

Even with all of this construction and new businesses, and bringing a few thousand more people to downtown, Albany is still a virtual ghost town at 5:30pm each workday and weekend.

So, I decided to put together my own plan to revitalize downtown Albany. This article speaks to the overall concept. In subsequent articles I will specify each of the major components of my plan. My purpose is to get people talking about this issue, so please let me know aht you tink by leaving a comment to this blog.

Here’s the plan: 

The city of Albany needs a comprehensive master plan to revitalize its inner city/downtown area. The layout of the city, the downtown area in particular, in my opinion was not very well thought out as the city was developed through the years and decisions were made over those years that apparently encouraged residents to move from the inner city areas to the suburbs in great numbers. Of course one of the major factors was the decision to build the Empire State Plaza in Albany’s South End. 

In addition, with the construction of the Empire State Plaza, came the construction of Interstate 787 along the Hudson River, effectively cutting off pedestrian access to the river and any hope for meaningful commercial development along the riverfront. 

My question to the current city planners is this: Is there currently a comprehensive plan that, once executed, will work specifically to revitalize the downtown area in terms of increasing the number of residents that will move into the greater downtown area, and increasing the number of businesses that would be necessary to support and sustain that influx of people? 

In addition, how can Albany shed the ghost town tag, this tag that defines how people that work in the downtown area during the business day, immediately hop in their cars or get on a bus and leave downtown for the suburbs as soon as the whistle blows at the end their workday?

The issue of revitalizing this city is akin to trying to eat a large elephant all at one sitting. And how does one eat such a large elephant? Why you eat it one bite at a time of course. I believe the best way to tackle this large challenge is to break it up into various components as follows:

• Increase the amount of residential housing units available in downtown Albany and make it attractive to live downtown
• Develop a “neighborhood” concept in the greater downtown area
• Allow for art studios and housing for the visual and performing arts community (create an art colony)
• Encourage ancillary businesses to relocate and establish a presence downtown (provide incentives)
• Change the negative image of downtown Albany to a more positive one

In future articles I will specify detailed actions that could be used to accomplish these goals. In some cases the actions in one area will intersect or otherwise be dependent on other areas. I will attempt to highlight those instances as I explain the individual pieces of the plan.

Let me know what you think.

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

Coffee, Tea or Sit Back and Do Nothing: Time to Take Action

I attended my first Coffee Party meeting yesterday. It was held at a small coffee shop on Western Avenue in Guilderland. There were approximately thirty people in attendance. Some had already been to an initial meeting and many were newbies like me. I attended to learn more about the movement as background for this column.

For those readers who are not aware of the Coffee Party movement, it is a movement basically formed in reaction to the Tea Party movement you have been reading about that formed primarily to protest President Obama’s health care reform bill. The difference is that the Coffee Party’s approach is non-violent and non-confrontation. They espouse a practice of civil discourse and respect for everyone’s views.

Here are their tenets and beliefs:

Coffee Party Mission Statement: The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Coffee Party USA aims to reinvigorate the public sphere, drawing from diverse backgrounds and diverse perspectives, with the goal of expanding the influence of the People in America’s political arena. We do not require nor adhere to any preexisting ideology.  We encourage deliberation guided by reason amongst the many viewpoints held by our members. We see our diversity as a strength, not a weakness, because we believe that faithful deliberation from multiple vantage points is the best way to achieve the common good.  It is in the responsible and reasonable practice of deliberation that we hope to contribute to society.

Coffee Party USA is made up of people acting independently of political parties, of corporations, and of political lobbying networks.  To this point, all products created and hours logged for Coffee Party have been carried out in the spirit of volunteerism.  In the coming months and years, we hope to transform our disappointment in our current political system into a force that will return our nation to a course of popular governance, of the People by the People for the People.

We are diverse ethnically, geographically, politically, in age and in experience.  

We are 100% grassroots.  No lobbyists here.  No pundits and no hyper-partisan strategists calling the shots in this movement. We are a spontaneous and collective expression of our desire to forge a culture of civic engagement that is solution-oriented, not blame-oriented.  

We demand a government that responds to the needs of the majority of its citizens as expressed by our votes and by our voices; not corporate interests as expressed by misleading advertisements and campaign contributions.

We want a society in which democracy is treated as sacrosanct and ordinary citizens participate out of a sense of civic duty, civic pride, and a desire to contribute to society.  The Coffee Party is a call to action. Our Founding Fathers and Mothers gave us an enduring gift — Democracy — and we must use it to meet the challenges that we face as a nation. 

The basic idea is to get the people of this country, who think government isn’t representing their interests, to take action to influence their elected officials at all level of government to listen to the people and to act in their interests and not in their own self interests (to get re-elected) or in the interests of corporate lobbyists and other special interest groups, including their own political party.

Encouraging members to write or e-mail their elected representatives, or meeting with them to express their concern in various areas. They say worst thing to do is nothing at all. Voter and taxpayer apathy is want has allowed the government to get so far off track in the first place. Keeping your elected officials accountable to the will of their constituents is the way to get government back on track.

By contrast, here is the Tea Party Mission Statement:

“The impetus for the Tea Party movement is excessive government spending and taxation. Our mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.” 

As you can see it is more narrowly focused in the area of government spending and taxation. 

It occurred to me early in this Coffee Party meeting that I had already written an article in this same Keeping It Real blog espousing the same rhetoric that I was hearing at this meeting. The article is entitled “Time for the Silent Majority to Speak Out”. If you haven’t previously read it, or haven’t read it in awhile, give it a quick read. For those of you that have poor reading habits, the last paragraph of this article says, “The Silent Majority just can’t afford to remain silent. Start to speak out. Get vocal. Get organized and start to take action to get our country back in the hands of the people where it was always intended to be by our founding fathers.”

So, the Coffee Party, and the Tea Party movements are designed to do just what I was imploring the people of this country to do. Again, the primary difference is in the methods employed by the two groups.

Based on my own admonishments, I am not going to remain silent. I am going to speak out and get vocal. I am going to start to take action to get our country back into the hands of the people. I will do this through civil discourse by writing to and meeting with my elected representatives. I will also organize my own local Coffee Party and become a leader in this movement.

I’m starting to feel somewhat like an original colonist might have felt who was getting tired of being governed in a manner that wasn’t consistent with his or her beliefs and wasn’t getting the proper representation. I have to tell you, it’s a good feeling.

In conclusion, here are my thoughts. Both the Coffee Party and Tea Party movements are good for our country. Recognizing they are not the only organizations that are trying to change our government to be more representative of the people. I personally do not agree with the tactics used by the Tea Party, but I do agree with many of their positions on various issues. Regardless of what group you may join or follow and support, the main thing at this junction in our country’s history is that you take action. There are now vehicles for you to do that and several people at the meeting yesterday were housewives that had never thought of becoming active in this area but who are just so disenfranchised with what is happening to our country that they came out on a Saturday afternoon to get involved.

Your move. 

Douglas Boettner

Doug.boettner@gmail.com

Hear Ye Hear Ye: The New York State Budget will not be adopted by April 1, 2010: This is news?

This is not news, it happens most every year. Let’s examine the reasons it happens. In order to enact a budget, one of the key elements is to know how much revenue you can expect to receive in the fiscal year. As you know, the deadline for filing and paying your state taxes is April 15^th.  So, the earliest you will know how much revenue you can project in the upcoming fiscal year is when the payments are received and accounted for; let’s say April 30^th.

Now let’s back track. The Governor and his budget people, working with state agencies and his program people, generally put together the Executive Budget between September and December of the previous fiscal period. The Executive Budget is given to both houses of the Legislature in early January about the same time as the Governor’s State of the State address.

In order to prepare the Executive Budget, the governor needs to make an estimate of the revenues that will be received during the next fiscal year. So, the Division of the Budget hires one or more economic forecasting consultants to estimate revenues, this is in addition to their own staff that is paid to do economic forecasts.

Once the Legislature gets the Executive Budget, the Senate’s Finance Committee and the Assembly’s Way & Means Committees each hire one or more economic forecasting consultants. So now we have at least three, and as many as six,  different economic forecasting consults working on estimates of revenues. Now, remember, what a consultant comes up with can work to promote a certain political position of a given faction of the Legislature. Keep in mind that since you are paying a consultant, their independence can be compromised. It has been known to happen.

Now, the state’s fiscal watchdog, the New York State Comptroller, also hires a consultant and has staff to make predictions of the revenues. Keep in mind that the State Comptroller is not a player in budget negotiations. He is not one of the “three men in a room” scenario. But he wants to be and he can garner some headlines by taking a position one way or the other, and surprisingly it is in favor of his own political party’s position. The State Comptroller is supposed to be an independent bipartisan office.

So now the taxpayers have now paid for at least four, and as many as seven, economic forecasting consultants to estimate the revenues for New York State. Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of revenues are from personal and corporate income taxes; taxes which aren’t generally collected until after April.

Now can you more clearly see the problem? One of the three people in the room wants to add expenses to the budget because his forecasts exceed those of a governor who is trying to balance a budget or to eliminate a project budget deficit. Hence, negotiations dragging on, preventing the budget from being passed on time.

The solution. A simple one really. It is one that has been proposed several times in my 35+ year tenure as a public servant. Change the state’s fiscal year from April 1-March 31, to July 1-June 30. This additional three months would allow the governor and the Legislative leaders to know more precisely how much revenue will be received during the fiscal year. Now, there will be some fluctuations due to variations in the bonuses paid from the stock market, but it would remove much of the guesswork at a time when the budget negotiations are in full swing.

In my humble opinion, this change is far overdue and maybe this is the year, based on the newly submitted plan by Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch. It just makes sense.

 

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

 

The Long Red Line of Embarrassment: New York State Politics

As I taxpayer and a lifelong resident of what once was The Great State of New York, I am truly embarrassed to say I live in New York. And apparently I am now in the majority in that regard having seen some recent polls on the matter. For the first time in history, a majority of New Yorkers, a generally proud people, are ashamed to tell people they are natives of New York State.

The history of New York is long and storied. It was a great source of pride for me when I was growing up and first learning about the history of both my community and the state in which I was born. When I went away to college in Boston I was proud to say I hailed from New York and people recognized the greatness of the state; and not just because the legal drinking age in New York was still at 18 years when Massachusetts had moved to 20 years and then 21 years a year later.

The total displeasure and lack of confidence of taxpayers has been growing steadily now each year for at least the last four years. I believe it is going to be peaking this summer and fall as we head into the most important election this country and this state has seen in some time; evidence the Tea Party and the recently formed Coffee Party.

In full view of this displeasure and lack of confidence, New York’s politicians have continued to be ineffective legislators and continued to break laws and act in an immoral and felonious manner. This has only further exacerbated the feelings of the taxpayers. What this seems to imply to me is they are continuing to operate with impunity because they know that in New York approximately 90% of incumbents win re-election, regardless of their record.

It’s a sad state of affairs in which we find ourselves, but one in which will make for good sport come campaign and election time this year. Here are some names to remember as we work toward deciding whom we will be voting for and what has transpired in New York State over the last few years: Spitzer; Hevesi; Espada; Bruno; Rangel; Monserrate; Massa; Sweeney and the list goes on. 

Seldom is there at time when our votes will mean more to the people and taxpayers of this state, and not to the people running for office, than this year. Get out and vote. Let your voice be heard and get involved. 

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

State Employees making $100,000 a year: Where’s the Beef?

In the recent article by Joseph Spector “More state workers make $100,000-plus a year”, he points out “The poor economy has done little to slow the growth in the number of state workers making more than $100,000 a year, state records show.”

This is not surprising to me in the least. I have written about this same topic in the past. The average New York State taxpayer would be appalled at the level of salaries and how they have climbed over the last fifteen years. All of this coming at a time where the New York State budget deficits routinely ran into the billions of dollars.

This issue parallels the issue I wrote about concerning the fact that the state employee unions were unwilling to forego their 3 percent raises this past April at the request of Governor Paterson. This rejection being made in full view of New York State facing a $15 billion budget deficit.

Salaries of New York State employees never go down regardless of what is happening in the economy. This is a basic economic flaw in budgeting process for New York State. As the revenues from Wall Street shrink and expenses for high unemployment due to a weakening economy grow, not only do state employees’ salaries continue to increase, apparently more and more people are hired who are making over $100,000 a year.

I can understand professional people, like doctors and researchers at our state hospitals and medical centers, and administrators and professors at our State universities making over the $100,000 mark, but there are untold numbers of people at state agencies now exceeding that amount; many without merit. In some cases in the State Comptroller’s Office there are people making that amount of money who don’t even have a college degree in the discipline in which they are working. Patronage is a large issue in the offices of elected officials.

It would be an interesting analysis to compare the payroll of the State Comptroller’s Office 15 years ago, 10 years ago and at present, to see just how many more people are making over $100,000 now than at the previous times. The results would be staggering and shocking.

And if it’s shocking at one state agency, you can “bet your sweet bippy” it is happening at every state agency. This is a study that needs to be performed and reported on.

Douglas Boettner

doug.boettner@gmail.com

The State of the State or The Lion That Roared

If delivered by almost any other sitting governor, I would be applauding the speech as one of the most dramatic and profound, albeit shortest in length and details, I have ever heard. And I have heard at least 40 of them.

It is right to putting all elected officials on notice that: the culture of addiction to bad behavior and improper acts is coming to an end; no more hiding behind prosperity when the good times are here; actually forcing adherence to spending caps, what a novel concept; and, instituting a 4-year fiscal recovery plan (please refer to my previous articles on John Faso).

In reality, he has no politic clout at all and all these strict measures are meaningless. He’s a paper tiger and a one year lame duck. He has no chance of receiving the Democratic nomination for governor, especially after this speech.

Ethics reform and campaign finance reform is absolutely necessary. In fact, most every measure the governor put forth in this speech is necessary and a good government initiative. However, these measures will now need to be included in the platform of the next gubernatorial candidates for the upcoming election. Until then, none of this will get done. It will get talked about at great length, but no legislation will pass.

 doug.boettner@gmail.com

How To Fix New York’s Fiscal Crisis: A Follow Up

In a previous article about John Faso and his ideas as to how to repair New York’s fiscal crisis, I promised to provide you with his six point plan and my thoughts on his six plan and here they are:

One: Governor Paterson should ask the Legislature to declare a fiscal emergency authorizing him to freeze scheduled salary and benefit increases to all public employees in the state.

I highly recommend this action and I actually have recommended it myself in a previous article. As he points out in his article, there is precedence for this type of freeze. It was done by state law for New York City in the 1970s and for Buffalo earlier in the decade. Public employee salary increases are estimated at $2.5 to 3.0 billion statewide. The freeze would significantly reduce future year budget gaps.

I agree with this totally.

Two: Freeze state aid to schools for at least the next two years. However, school districts can manage this only if wages and benefits, which represent 75% of school spending, are frozen as well. The only alternative to a pay freeze would be damaging layoffs of teachers.

This makes sense to me since school districts, like every other private and public entity, should properly manage their resources and should be able to make cuts when needed. State aid for schools is not entitlement to unbridled spending.

Three: Enact a less generous pension plan for new public employees. This would save approximately $50 billion over the next 30 years and help ensure long-term fiscal health for the state and local governments. In addition, overtime should be eliminated in calculating pensions.

I totally agree with this point, and specifically with the elimination of overtime in the calculation of pensions. For far too long public employees have been pumping up their pensions by working excessive amounts of overtime in the three years before they retire. The allowance of this practice falsely inflates individual pensions at a cost to us all.

Four: Sweep away state laws that only serve special interests and add to taxpayer costs, especially those that are related to labor negotiations and building construction.

To me, this is a no brainer. Special interests have been detrimental to New York State for decades and attempts to change or control them have failed. Maybe with Senator Bruno’s shenanigans coming to light some meaningful change can occur.

Five: Eliminate the ability of the governor and Legislature to incur new debt without voter approval. Take the credit card away from the Legislature and require pay as you go financing for most capital projects.

This is just sound fiscal policy whether it is for New York State or our own households. Borrowing is pyramiding in New York State and is going to place a tremendous tax burden on future generations of New Yorkers.

Six: Adopt a property tax cap, similar to that in place in Massachusetts since 1980. Property taxes in the Bay State are 30 to 40 percent less than those in New York, yet services are as good or better. Limiting property taxes is essential to the state’s economic survival.

 This is one I think every New Yorker agrees with. It is sound policy. Limits must be put on all areas. Without restraints public officials will not be as prudent with the monies that are entrusted to them as if the monies were their own. They should, but history has proven time and time again not to be the case.

 Mr. Faso ends his article with a statement that “the best time to start is now”. I hope Governor Paterson and the other gubernatorial candidates are listening.

 Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

 Doug.boettner@gmail.com