Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli yesterday called for the New York State Senate to vote on a proposal that would give his office direct audit authority over local development corporations.
The proposal has been passed by the Assembly and has been referred to the Senate Rules committee.
DiNapoli said his office uncovered multiple instances in which LDCs, which are authorized to sell tax-exempt bonds and take public property for resale or development, were used as a means of sidestepping state finance laws last year.
Among them, Monroe County officials used an LDC to issue bonds to cover operating expenses, Ramapo town officials left taxpayers potentially liable for up to $60 million related to the construction of a minor league baseball park, and Cornwall-on-Hudson officials used an LDC to avoid state procurement laws, DiNapoli”™s office said in a release.
“My office has repeatedly found that local governments have used LDCs to cover fiscal improprieties that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars,” DiNapoli said in a June 20 statement. “Proper oversight will help restore these entities to their original purpose of promoting economic development.”
Currently, the state”™s approximately 270 LDCs are monitored by the state Authorities Budget Office. LDCs are required to file three annual financial reports with the ABO, but recent reports have questioned whether all of the state”™s LDCs are in compliance with filing and disclosure requirements.
