Stimulus Oversight SenatorsLetterToGov(May09)

8/14/2019 Stimulus Oversight SenatorsLetterToGov(May09)

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'"N,EWYORK

JOSE M. SERRANO

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May 4,2009

3Hon. David Paterson, Governor o(New York

State Capitol

Albany, NY 12224.,

:.. Re: Adoption of an E x k c u t i v ~ o r d ~ r to address oversight and accountability of s t i m u l u ~ investments inNew York State

Dear Governor PaterS,on:

.. We thank you fo r youJ t i r e l ~ s s wQrk navigating NewYork State through difficult econ6mic times, andwe

.. applaud your successfJ..lI e f f ~ r t 5 tq make our state a focal point ofthe federa.l s t i m u l u ~ 7 p a c k a g e . As such,

;;: we, urge yOll to e n s u r ~ t h a t . f u n d ~ made available to the state under the American ReC?very and

Reinvestment Act of 2.009 CARRAl are allotted, and disbursed to New York's communitIes in a- transparent, e q u i t a . b l ~ and:accountable malJner. '::- ,. r. "'!. •

_ P r ~ s i d e n t Barack O b ~ ( ' n a h ~ repeatedly s t a ~ e d that these funds must be used to invest in,the country's

e c ~ n o m i c recovery and that fede.ral overseerS plan to tightly scrutinize ho w investment declsions arert ,...- • •..

? prioritized at the statp. a n d ~ l o c a l ~ e v e l s . N e York's leadership must take pro-active measures to ensure

a l l . s t i m u l u 5 - r e l a ~ e d f ~ n d s ir e inv.ested wisely. With that in mind. we ask that you i S S L ~ an Executive

Orqer addressing t h r ~ e pri[l1ary i ~ s u e s , which we have outlined below and are suppoiled by the

.. mt;!mbers of the New;york§tate ~ t i m u l u s Oyersight Working Group, a diverse coalition of advocacy and

non-profit organizations. ...

" 1) Jndependent stim&lus monitor: On April 3, California Governor Arnold Schwarzene'gger issued

=; Executive Order Number S;04-O§, thereby ~ r e a t i n g an independent InspectorGener<;t1 to conduct(' ' , - , -

.. reviews and audits to;ensure sta.te and local government compliance with th e federarrequirements ofI fl "" • . •.:

" A ~ R A and applicable[;;tateJaw aDd to bring maximum public transparency into the oversight of t h e s ~f U ~ d s - Among its resSonsibilities: the independent Inspector General will: '"

• Protect the,integrity and accountability of stimulus funds by preventing anif detecting fraud,

waste, and miscorlouct;;,

,...

• Conduct periodic reviei:ws'and au(lits to ensure state and local governmenCcompliance with

the federcJl r ~ q u i r e m e n t $ of ARRA and applicable state law; :

• Provide i n d ~ p e n ~ e n t ~ n objective reports to the Governor, the Legislature, U.S. General

Accountability Office, a ~ the Recovery Accountability and Transparency B o ~ r d on the activities

o

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and findings of the r e v i e w ~ and aud'its, including any identified program and mi:1nagem@nt

problems, as it ~ e l a t e ~ to u ~ of stimulus funds, and recommendations to c o r r e : ~ them. These

reRorts shall b e . ; p o s t ~ d on ~ h I n t e r n ~ t to provide additional accountability and,transparency to

the public; and _.

.. c o o ~ d i n a t e vlith t h ~ e 8 u r ~ a u of S t a t ~ Audits, the State Controller, the Department of Finance,

and local aUdit6rs a ~ comptrollers to identify and deploy resources in a manner to ensure the

highest level ot: review and a c c o u n t a ~ i 1 i t y . , ~ "'2) Transparent d e C i S i o ~ . m a k i · n g : We urge N e York State to improve the application a!1d decision-

making process. Opportunities to ~ p p l y for 5 ~ i m u l u N e l a t e d funding are not being circulated widely

":eno.ugh to all New Yorkers. As a r ~ s u l t , the most up·to-pate information is too often l irr ited to entities

..that have received state money il): the'past Clnd are already "at the table" in Albany. Many of the

.. o r g a n i z a t i o n ~ in ou r r ~ ~ p e c t i v e di§tricts report not understanding the categories of, stimulus funding nor

the,criteria by which the Sta'te wlii decide which projects should receive support. We r::skthat you clarify

:. both the categories arid the..criteda in a comprehensive and publicly accessible fashion.

"

3) Online Transpareno/: T h w e b ~ i t e created by your Economic Recovery and R e i n v e s ~ m e n t Cabinet is apowerful tool, bu twe believe a great deal of work remains to be done. The sheer vohii'l"le of unfiltered

information- a s p r e a ~ 5 h e e t listing thousands of project submissions - does not necessarily translate to

;: transparency, or f o s t c ~ r pugJic participation, and has In fact generated much confusion. We urge you to

_ expand online efforts;; incfl.l.ding an accessible inquiry form, as well as the integration 'ofa uniform and

.. efficient tracking proq,edure to fQ.1tow the e ~ p e n d i t u r e of funds. Moreover, we believe-the state should

.. actively engage with \nforl1Jatiofl:technology experts, especially those who are develf.fping online

• infrastructure at the f ~ d e r i j l l e v e J with the ~ e c o v e r y . g o v site. The state might also bui ld upon an effort

:' here in New York Cit¥. the ~ t i m u l u s T r a c k e r ~ which has made advances in mapping already approved

'" prl:ljects. C o m p , . e h e n ~ i v e t r . a c k i n ~ should also include mandates fo r periodic reporting', with detailed'

.. updates on job c r e a t ~ ~ > n aNI r e t ~ n t j o n , s c h ~ d u l e d completion, economic impact, a n ~ ~ n v i r o n m e n t a lprotection that "drill' dowp" to provide rep,0rting from each recipient of stimulus f u ~ o s . This would

include: the name of!the eotity ~ n a m o u n ~ distributed (plus subcontractors); n u m b ~ r of jobs created;

;' go.als ~ c h i e ~ e d ; a n ' i Y a g e s , . p a i d . ~ l t would allow New Yorkers to help hold these p r o j e ~ t s accountable byfopowlOg stImulus m ~ e s t t Y J ! ! n t f ~ n d 5 all the,way from t ~ U.S. Treasury to, fo r example, the pothole that

" gets filled on their street corner;: : ...• _ .. i,,!

N ~ York is very m u ~ h t h birthplace of proactive and responsive state governance, dating back to

'i l e ~ d e r s like AI S m i t h ~ n d FJ<lnkli,r D. Rooseyelt, In the event additional federal stirnu(us funds become

..; a ~ a i l a b l e , N e York ~ t a t e must ~ a v e in p l a ~ e a system that proves we have invested=laxpayer money

.;; Wisely. At a time whrn t h country once a&ain faces economic hardship, seeking leaaership and

" dynamism from the p , u b l i ~ s e c t o : r , we belieye New Y.ork is uniquely poised to b e c o r n ~ : a national model

for accountable, vib¥rnt aQd s p ~ e d y revital,ization, We thank you for your consideration, and offer our

" support and assistance in .the implementation ofthe i tems we have listed. ,"

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~ 7 J ey D. Klein

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~ - - ' r l - / ~ ~Liz K m e g ~ rSenator':

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Josepl1 p.: A d d ~ b b oSenator : ~ .

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\ . - / ' ; I 't l ~ :Ruth Hassell..11lQ'mpson

Senator ::""~ ~ ... ' 4 t . . o ~~ I

Craig M, J o h ~ s o n .

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Eric Adams. S e ~ a t O l ~

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Neil Q. B r ~ s l i n :S e ~ a t o t

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Daniel a... SquadronSenator

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George Oncirato

Senator:.

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Eric T, S c h n e l ~ e r r n a nSenatof

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l . / \ //0. _.L, • . J ~ - 4 7 ' ( ~ - - . , . ,Andrea StewarFCousins

Senatoi'1:1.

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Documents

Stimulus Oversight SenatorsLetterToGov(May09)