With the economic crisis taking its toll across the United States, both of the candidates for the 48th State Senate District have offered up their ideas to streamline state government, reduce government spending and take the burden off of the taxpayers.

Incumbent Darrel Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, has put forth what he calls bold initiatives and solutions to cut state spending through consolidation and the implementation of a hiring freeze. This would help ease some of the state’s financial crisis which would save millions this year and hundreds of millions in the coming years, he said.

“I have said for some time that we need to get ahead of this financial crisis and that all options should be on the table,” Aubertine said. “The challenge is to cut state spending and state debt without impacting the very programs that help regular people deal with the fiscal crisis. The answer, I believe, is for state government, like the rest of us, to do more with less, and consolidate to eliminate redundancy.”

In August, Aubertine voted to cut $1 billion from the state budget. Afterward, he called for the Legislature to return to Albany to address the growing crisis. On Tuesday, he asked Gov. David Paterson and other members of the Legislature to consider consolidating state agencies with overlapping responsibilities. He also suggested a hiring freeze at state authorities to improve government efficiency.

“There is no reason why the state taxpayers should have to foot the bill for multiple agencies and authorities to have similar missions, overlapping responsibilities and the same layers of bureaucracy,” he said.

There are currently more than 640 authorities in New York state, with 169 of them being major public authorities. Aubertine pointed out that these authorities can create more state debt without government approval and are responsible for more than 90 percent of state debt.

Under Aubertine’s proposal, the New York State Bridge Authority and the New York State Thruway Authority would be folded into the Department of Transportation (DOT) since all three agencies focus on transportation infrastructure. Aubertine estimates that the consolidation of these agencies would save roughly $52 million this year and $104 million next year. There is no reason to have three separate agencies dealing with transportation, Aubertine said. “By combining all three, we will be able to streamline state government and reduce the debt load on taxpayers. This makes sense for the taxpayers of New York.”

The second portion of the consolidation proposal is to combine the New York State Energy, Research and Development Authority with the New York Power Authority to create the single New York State Energy Authority. According to Aubertine, a single energy authority would preserve jobs at both authorities while simultaneously unifying their missions. It would also eliminate wasteful redundancy in programs and administration. “We need a singular energy policy, and it starts with a singular entity focused on energy policy and programs,” Aubertine said.

The last part of Aubertine’s proposal is to transfer the New York State Canal Corporation from the Thruway Authority to the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “It makes better sense to fold the canals into our park system, and focus on efforts to enhance the canals as part of our state recreation assets,” the senator said. “These consolidations would preserve jobs and enhance the mission of state government in these matters, while also saving taxpayer money. While some may see these as too bold, that is exactly the kind of changes we have got to make for New York state’s long-term future.”

Aubertine also proposed an immediate hiring freeze at all state authorities. Every year, the state public authorities lose 6 percent of their staff to attrition. Aubertine says if the positions are not filled then this would save $30 million this year and $130 million during the next fiscal year. He noted that this would be accomplished without a single layoff. Aubertine also wants to look at retirement incentives to current state employees, which would save the state $50 million this year and $200 million during the next fiscal year.

Dave Renzi, Aubertine’s Republican opponent from Watertown, applauded the governor Tuesday for asking for ideas from lawmakers to cut spending in Albany’s bloated budget. Renzi pointed out that it was the overspending of politicians that helped create the state’s financial crisis.

“Years of overspending brought us to the point where Albany is talking about tax increases, job cuts and mid-year school aid reductions,” Renzi said. “But with some political courage, fresh ideas and a willingness to tackle the problem honestly, we can cut the budget and protect taxpayers.”

One area that Renzi and Aubertine agree on is authority reform. Renzi said that the state’s public authorities have budgets totaling more than $80 billion. He believes the state Legislature should look into consolidating some of these authorities and also eliminating outdated agencies.
Renzi proposed cuts that would eliminate $125 billion of wasteful spending in the state budget.

He warned lawmakers in making across-the-board budget cuts, noting it hits certain areas of the state harder than others. Renzi gave the example of the recent corrections department cut that eliminated hundreds of jobs at state prisons including facilities in Watertown and Ogdensburg.
He also suggested reforming the Medicaid system. Renzi noted that New York has the highest Medicaid costs in the country, partially due to fraud and abuse of the system, which makes up 10 percent of the cost or $5 billion.

The Watertown attorney also wants to stop state legislators from sending self-promoting mailers, claiming they cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. Renzi previously accused Aubertine of sending out 10 mailers since August, costing the taxpayers $200,000. Aubertine’s campaign spokesperson Drew Mangione already clarified that the mailers were approved by the 62 members of the Senate and the Senate majority and are a part of regular mailers that Senate members send to their constituents.

Renzi’s last proposal to reduce spending in state government includes the exploration leasing state assets. He pointed out that New York taxpayers currently own 21 golf courses, three ski areas and more than 100 campgrounds. Renzi said that at least 20 other states have such assets managed privately and New York state should see if this would be a fiscally responsible move.