ISSUE: Reduce the Size of Government - RBA NYS Economic Survival Guide

NEW YORK STATE ECONOMIC SURVIVAL GUIDE

ISSUE Reduce the Size of Government

OVERSIZED GOVERNMENTS
DEVOUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS.

The sheer size of government contributes to our state’s To make efficiencies happen, the governor should
high tax burden. We need a fresh look at delivering have authority to reorganize the executive branch,
services in the most efficient way possible, taming as is true in 31 other states.22 This would allow the
the growth of government before the cost eats governor to make changes in the executive branch,
taxpayers alive. which could be rejected by legislative vote. Before this
change, another step the governor can take is simply
According to an attorney general’s survey, New York not to appoint commissioners to state boards that no
has more than 1,000 state government entities.21 longer serve a useful purpose.
A patchwork quilt of overlapping agencies, authorities,
boards and commissions has evolved over our long Reforming and restructuring public authorities
history. The last significant reorganization of the state’s must be on the table in any review of government
executive branch occurred under Governor Al Smith efficiency. The first state authorities were established
in 1927, when the state employed 29,000 people. 90 years ago, as a way for the state to fund capital
In 2010, the state employed more than 228,000 projects without requiring a voter referendum.
full-time-equivalent employees. These numbers alone Today, hundreds of authorities operate as a “fourth
don’t suggest inefficiency, but any large organization branch of government,” delivering thousands of
should work to deliver services at lower cost, especially services that overlap with government agencies.
in tight budget times.
The Transportation Department, for example, shares
To his credit, Governor-elect Cuomo has made responsibility for meeting the state’s infrastructure
government efficiency a priority. His goal, which the and transit needs with more than 50 state and local
Rochester Business Alliance strongly supports, is to authorities. Low-income housing policy is not
reduce the number of state agencies, authorities and driven primarily by the state’s Division of Housing
commissions by 20 percent. Although streamlining and Community Renewal, but by four state housing
New York governments will take time, the steps authorities and nearly 200 local ones. Authorities
he has outlined to begin the process should be control 85 percent of the state’s infrastructure and
immediate priorities. account for 93 percent of state debt, without direct
oversight from elected leaders.
A first step is analyzing the current state bureaucracy
to identify efficiency improvements, with help from With more than 10,500 government entities at the
private-sector reorganization experts. Seventeen other local level, communities are served by many layers
21 “A New N.Y.: A Blueprint to
states have conducted similar reviews in the past decade, of overlapping services and functions. From tax
Reform Government,” Office but no state needs it more than New York. assessments to highway maintenance to delivering
of the Attorney General,
New York State, 2008, available
at www.ag.ny.gov
22 “The Book of the States: 2009
Edition,” Council of State
Governments, pages 190–91
23 “Local Government Efficiency
Program Annual Report 2008–09,”
New York State Department
of State

ISSUE: Reduce the Size of Government - RBA NYS Economic Survival Guide

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ISSUE: Reduce the Size of Government - RBA NYS Economic Survival Guide