The Government of New York State

This PDF is a selection from an out-of-print volume from the NationalBureau of Economic Research

Volume Title: Planning and Control of Public Works

Volume Author/Editor: Leo Wolman

Volume Publisher: NBER

Volume ISBN: 0-87014-016-7

Volume URL: http://www.nber.org/books/wolm30-1

Publication Date: 1930

Chapter Title: The Government of New York State

Chapter Author: Leo Wolman

Chapter URL: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c5509

Chapter pages in book: (p. 57 - 87)

6

CHAPTER III

THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK STATE

In contrast to the variety of public works undertaken by Ameri-can cities, the expenditures by state governments for permanentimprovements go largely for the construction of buildings androads. More than 90 per cent of the annual expenditures for pub-lie construction by the state governments of Ohio, Illinois, andCalifornia is used in the construction of highways and public build-ings. To present a detailed conspectus of the course of permanentimprovements financed and administered by one state governmentwill most clearly illustrate the problem; the rest of this chapteris therefore concerned with a comprehensive description of therecent history of the public works programs of the government ofthe State of New York.

The Public Works Expenditures of the New York State Gov-ernment.—The cost of permanent impr.ovements undertaken byNew York State increased from $25,000,000 in 1919 to $72,000,000in 1928, a rate of increase not so rapid as the rise, during the sameperiod, in the expenditures of New York City. Throughout thedecade outlays for highways and public buildings have come torepresent an increasing portion of the total expenditures of thestate government. At the same time expenditures for canals andwaterways which in 1919 accounted for more than one-third of thetotal had fallen by 1928 to a position of much lesser importance.Parks and reservations, on the other hand, involve much larger out-lays now than they did at the beginning of the decade.

In the administration and financing of projects of permanentimprovement, the government of the State of New York has nosimple procedure. Expenditures are made by a variety of adminis-trative agencies, some long established and others created for thepurpose, and the are of diverse origin. The materials forunderstanding this condition are contained in Table 18, which givesa detailed statement of expenditures on permanent improvements,classified 'by administrative agency and by the source of expendi-

57

TA

BL

E 1

7. —

EX

PEN

DIT

UR

ES

ON

PU

BL

IC C

ON

STR

UC

TIO

N B

Y N

EW

YO

RK

ST

AT

E G

OV

ER

NM

EN

T,

(In

thou

sand

s)

Cla

ss

YE

AR

EN

DIN

G J

vwe

30rn

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

Bui

ldin

gs f

rom

tax

rece

ipt&

'B

uild

ings

fro

m b

ond

issu

es

Tot

al f

or b

uild

ings

$ 3,

476

$4,3

87$6

,107

$5,7

31$4

,318

$6,4

94 3$5

,979 37

2$8

,081

3,52

2$5

,535

9,46

0$6

,136

13,1

89

$3,4

76$4

,387

$6,1

07$5

,731

$4,3

18$6

,497

$6,3

51$9

,603

$14,

995

$19,

325

Hig

hway

s an

d br

idge

s fr

om ta

x re

ceip

ts'.

Hig

hway

s an

d br

idge

s fr

om b

ond

issu

es

Tot

al f

or h

ighw

ays

and

brid

ges

8,94

52,

114

10,3

853,

978

12,2

035,

117

19,0

856,

686

21,0

833,

939

26,3

412,

659

34,5

241,

342

36,5

53 716

31,4

03 428

44.7

71 448

$11,

059

$14,

363

$17,

320

$25,

771

$25,

022

$29,

000

$35,

866

$37,

279

$31,

831

$45,

219

Can

als

and

wat

erw

ays

—m

aint

enan

cean

d re

psir

sC

anal

s an

d w

ater

way

s —

barg

eca

nal c

onst

ruct

ion

Tot

al f

or c

anal

s an

d w

ater

way

s

2,14

47,

633

2,87

93,

716

3,67

02,

778

3,09

33,

532

3,79

42,

161

4,12

91,

641

3,40

52,

670

3,09

290

53,

204

492

2,29

117

9

$9,7

77$6

,595

$6,4

48$6

,625

$5,9

55$5

,770

$6,0

75$3

,997

$3,6

96$2

,470

Publ

ic W

orks

Dep

artm

ent

mis

cella

neou

s ou

tlays

fro

m g

ener

alfu

nd79

5668

5925

541,

742

2,51

533

707

Park

s an

d re

serv

atio

ns, e

tc. f

rom

tax

rece

ipts

Park

s an

d re

serv

atio

ns, e

tc. f

rom

bon

d is

sues

Tot

al f

or p

arks

and

res

erva

tions

175

122

462

230

136

569

273

151 77

283

1,10

349

51,

568

$175

$122

$462

$230

$136

$569

$273

$228

$1,3

88$2

,063

Hol

land

Tun

nel —

from

tax

rece

ipts

$2$1

0782

99$4

68$4

,030

$5,9

23$4

,774

$3,9

42$3

,844

$1,4

96

Gra

de c

ross

ing

elim

inat

ions

—fr

omta

x re

ceip

tsG

rade

cro

ssin

g el

imin

atio

ns —

from

bond

issu

es

Tot

al f

or g

rade

cro

ssin

g el

imin

atio

ns

Gra

nd T

otal

(ex

clud

ing

cana

l mai

nten

ance

and

rep

airs

)(i

nclu

ding

can

al m

aint

enan

ce a

nd r

epai

rs)

6813

599

134

5631

570

302

381

385

$68

$135

$99

$134

$56

$315

$70

$302

$38

$385

$22,

492

$24,

636

$22,

888

$25,

765

$27,

133

$30,

803

$35,

925

$39,

018

$35,

748

$39,

542

$43,

999

$48,

128

$51,

746

$55,

151

$54,

774

$57,

866

$52,

619

$55,

823

$69,

374

$71,

685

SOU

RC

E: N

ew Y

ork

Stat

e, C

ompt

rolle

r's A

nnua

l Rep

orts

.'A

ll th

e fi

gure

s om

it ex

pend

iture

s fo

r la

nd.

For

com

posi

tion

of f

igur

es in

eac

h cl

ass,

see

App

endi

x F.

hosp

itals

, edu

catio

nal b

uild

ings

, off

ices

, etc

.__

____

____

____

____

____

____

__

CHART 8.—EXPENDITURES ON PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION BY NEW YORKSTATE GOVERNMENT, 1919-1928.

MilicobsoF

50

40

30

20

I0

01920 1921 1Q22 923 1924 1925 1927 1928

'59

60 PLANNING AND CONTROL OF PUBLIC WORKS

ture. The construction of both Tables 17 and 18, involving problemsof reclassifying public accounts and the making of arbitrary deci-sions to include or exclude items requires further comments.

Throughout the tables here used, the cost of land has beenexcluded. Where it is an important item, the yearly expenditurefor its acquisition by the given department has been calculatedseparately and is given in footnotes to Table 18. The cost of"maintenance and operation" has also been excluded. In most cases,as with schools, hospitals, prisons, etc., this item is very difficult tocalculate correctly, but is relatively unimportant. In the Depart-ment of Public Works, however (especially in the Division ofHighways) maintenance is an important expenditure which hasbeen included along with repairs. In every other instance, where"maintenance" does not mean "operation" it means "repairs." Thefigures for repairs also included in the tables. They are notgiven separately, however, because the expenditures on repairs areso small as to be of slight comparative importance—a few thou-sand dollars each year in each case, a few hundred thousand in theaggregate. To give these figures separately would also be mislead-ing because only minor repairs carried out by regular force em-ployees are listed as such. More important repair work, done bycontract, is regarded as reconstruction, and is listed as capital out-lay on permanent improvements. For the canals, two different fig-ures are given; for new construction and for maintenance andrepairs.

Expenditures on construction in all departments, except thePublic Works Department, are listed as capital outlays. In thePublic Works Department construction expenditures are distrib-uted between personal service, fixed charges, and capital outlays.The outlays on permanent improvements of the Public WorksDepartment have been separated into two classes, those made bythe Highway Division, and. all others made by the Department.The former are for the construction of highways and roads of onesort or another (largely rural post roads), the latter comprehendmiscellaneous expenditures for public works (largely on bridgesand waterways).

Expenditures for barge canal construction have come out of theSpecial Canal Fund over the entire period; that is, this work hasbeen financed largely by means of bond issues. Expenditures forcanal maintenance and operation until 1927 came out of the Gen-

%JJ

.'I L

U.L

)L41

',J.0

ZF

RO

MT

HE

GE

NE

RA

LFU

ND

S

(In

thou

sand

s)

DE

PAR

TM

EN

Tb

YE

AR

EIc

DIN

G J

UH

E 3

0TH

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

(

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

Exe

cutiv

es...

....

....

....

....

....

....

.$

166

$ 16

7C

onse

rvat

ion

(Pro

tect

ive)

"$1

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22$4

62$2

30$1

36$5

69$2

73$1

5128

349

5C

orre

ctio

n54

173

11,

193

1,27

550

329

730

543

453

144

5E

duca

tion

(Ed.

and

Agr

ic.)

'53

953

043

670

91,

172

1,28

749

162

840

731

5H

ealth

(R

egul

ativ

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199

7837

286

8814

123

117

84M

enta

l Hyg

iene

"...

....

....

....

....

....

....

.3,

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2,89

3N

ew Y

ork

Bri

dge

and

Tun

nel C

om-

mis

sion

(H

olla

nd T

unne

l)2

107

299

468

3,42

25,

614

4,77

43,

436

3,54

71,

496

Port

of

New

Yor

k A

utho

rity

....

....

....

....

752

528

488

1,02

4W

estc

hest

er C

ount

y Pa

rk C

om-

mis

sion

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

30L

ake

Cha

mpl

ain.

Bri

dge

Com

mis

sion

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

120

Can

als,

mai

nten

ance

, etc

Cur

ativ

eC

hari

tabl

eD

efen

sive

1,28

480

410

9

.. ..

1,66

21,

198

188

.. ..

3,08

51,

049

307

.. ..

3,00

945

825

2

.. ..

2,15

028

919

8

.. ..

3,26

645

224

5

.. ..

3,26

092

419

8

....

3,58

867

713

2

151 ' k

.. ' k

Gra

de c

ross

ings

(var

ious

depa

rt-

men

ts)

6813

599

134

5631

570

302

....

....

Sotr

aca:

New

Yor

k St

ate.

Com

ptro

ller's

Ann

ual R

epor

ts,

Exh

ibit

17, p

p.Fi

gure

s ar

e fo

r ca

pita

l out

lays

, exc

ludi

ng c

ost o

f la

nd, a

nd r

epai

rs.

As

a re

sult

of th

e R

eorg

aniz

atio

n A

ct o

f 19

26 th

e fu

nctio

ns o

f th

e va

riou

s go

vern

men

t dep

artm

ents

wer

e re

dist

ribu

ted.

The

sum

mar

y fi

gure

s fo

r br

oad

clas

ses

of e

xpen

ditu

re th

roug

h 19

26 a

re c

onse

quen

tly n

ot s

tric

tly c

ompa

rabl

e w

ith th

e fi

gure

s fo

r 19

27 a

nd 1

928.

So

far

as p

ossi

ble

the

figu

res

in th

is ta

blef

or th

e w

hole

peri

od, 1

919—

1928

, hav

e be

en r

ecla

ssif

ied

and

are

here

pre

sent

ed in

sub

stan

tially

com

para

ble

form

.E

xecu

tive

unde

r ne

w c

lass

ific

atio

n in

clud

es a

rmor

ies

and

som

e ca

mps

(lis

ted

befo

re u

nder

hea

d of

'Def

ensi

ve")

and

som

e ei

ght i

nstit

utio

ns, c

hari

tabl

e sc

hool

s,ho

spita

ls a

nd h

omes

, und

er th

e ju

risd

ictio

n of

the

Div

isio

n of

Sta

ndar

ds a

nd P

urch

ase.

The

se b

efor

e 19

26 w

ere

incl

uded

in 'C

hari

tabl

e."

Park

s, r

eser

vatio

ns, m

emor

ials

, und

er th

e ol

d cl

assi

fica

tion

liste

d as

"Pr

otec

tive.

"'S

tate

pri

sons

, ref

orm

ator

ies,

etc

., de

sign

ated

"Pe

nal"

bef

ore

1927

./ T

inde

r ol

d cl

assi

fica

tion

scho

ols

of a

gric

uitu

re, e

xper

imen

tal s

tatio

ns, e

tc.,

wer

e lis

ted

unde

r 'A

gric

ultu

re";

in 1

927

incl

uded

in "

Edu

catio

n."

Incl

udes

onl

y D

ivis

ion

of L

abor

ator

ies

and

Inst

itute

for

Stu

dy o

f M

alig

nant

Dis

ease

s; b

efor

e 19

27 in

clud

ed u

nder

"R

egul

ativ

e."

"Inc

lude

s 16

hos

pita

ls f

or th

e in

sane

and

6 in

stitu

tions

for

men

tal d

efec

tives

. Bef

ore

1927

thes

e w

ere

liste

d la

rgel

y in

"C

urat

ive"

and

par

tly in

"C

hari

tabl

e."

'In 1

927

and

1928

no

long

er a

sep

arat

e de

part

men

t; in

clud

ed u

nder

"M

enta

l Hyg

iene

."In

192

7 an

d 19

28 d

istr

ibut

ed b

etw

een

"Exe

cutiv

e" a

nd "

Men

tal H

ygie

ne."

In 1

927

and

1928

incl

uded

und

er "

Exe

cutiv

e."

TA

BL

E 1

8. —

EX

PE

ND

ITU

RE

SO

N P

UB

LIC

CO

NST

RU

CT

ION

BY

NE

W Y

OR

K S

TA

TE

GO

VE

RN

ME

NT

, 191

9-19

28FR

oM T

HE

GE

NE

RA

L F

UN

Da_

Co,

Uin

ued

(In

thou

sand

s)

DE

PAR

TM

EN

T O

F PU

BL

IC W

OR

KS

EN

DIN

G J

UN

E30

TH

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

Personal service

Administration

....

....

....

....

....

....

$161

$274

$321

$399

Division of Canals and Waterways

....

....

....

....

....

....

....

1,233

1,444

Division of Highways

....

....

....

....

....

....

132

529

525

436

Division of Public Buildings, main-

..

tenance and repairs, etc

....

....

....

...

....

$859

499

325

841

1,811

Maintenance of state and

coun

tyhi

ghw

ays,

gen

eral

$5,8

36$6

,866

$6,9

23$5,535

$7,350

10,800

13,550

15,443

7,380

8,071

Mai

nten

ance

of

stat

e an

d co

unty

high

way

s, s

peci

al57

265

733

9840

720

665

976

799

1,417

8,798

Mis

cella

neou

s re

pair

s, e

tc39

954

2911

107

4946

2825

7Fi

xed

char

ges

and

cont

ribu

tions

Con

stru

ctio

n an

d im

prov

emen

t of

high

way

s, s

tate

aid

to c

ount

ies.

....

....

.1,

451

2,705

2,299

2,385

2,41

22,

375

2,38

02,

376

Adv

ance

s fo

r fe

dera

l rur

al p

ost

road

s10

010

021

32,

863

3,70

44,

384

5,89

04,

808

4,75

55,

146

Rep

airs

to h

ighw

ays,

cou

nty

road

s20

2060

3030

3030

2520

20R

epai

rs to

hig

hway

s, s

tate

aid

toto

wns

2,14

72,

255

2,27

12,

443

2,49

02,

531

2,63

72,

712

2,90

93,

048

Out

lays

on

perm

anen

t im

prov

e-79

5668

5925

541,

742

2,51

533

707

Out

lays

on

perm

anen

t im

prov

e-m

ents

tm15

321

773

54,

206

4,39

55,

331

8,79

69,

298

11,5

3416

,152

Rep

airs

to h

ighw

ays,

Ind

ian

Res

er-

vatio

n78

3873

4846

101

....

....

....

....

Tot

al e

xpen

ditu

res

from

the

Gen

-er

al F

und

$12,

745

$15,

055

$19,

104

$25,

321

$29,

002

$39,

387

$47,

362

$49,

048

$42,

211

$55,

734

'Pay

men

t of

Dep

artm

ent o

f Pu

blic

Wor

ks, e

xclu

thve

of

high

way

out

lays

.tm

Paym

ent o

f B

urea

u of

Hig

hway

s. (

Hig

hway

Bur

eau

cons

olid

Ate

d w

ith D

epar

tmen

t of

Publ

ic W

orka

aft

er 1

926.

)

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ND

S—l,U

Ofl

fifl

USU

)

(In

thou

sand

s)

FUN

DE

ND

ING

JUN

E3O

vR

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

Hig

hway

Im

prov

emen

t Fun

d —

$ 71

6$4

28$4

48co

nstr

uctio

nPa

lisad

es I

nter

stat

e Pa

rk F

und'

$ 2,

114

$3,9

78 ....

$5,1

17 ....

$6,6

86 ....

$3,9

39 ....

$2,6

59 ....

$1,3

42

••••

.•.

....

....

Stat

e Fo

rest

Pre

serv

e Fu

nd"

,, ..

....

....

.. ..

....

....

-....

.5,

743

Stat

e In

stitu

tions

Bui

ldin

g Fu

ndG

ener

al S

tate

Im

prov

emen

t Fun

d5St

ate

Park

Sys

tem

Fun

d'G

rade

Cro

ssin

g E

limin

atio

n Fu

ndO

ther

fun

ds —

cons

truc

tion

item

s

....

....

....

....

....

.,,.

...•

....

....

.. ..

... •••.

....

....

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.. ..

3

....

....

....

.. ..

....

....

....

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3,52

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. 77•.

..•.

.. 15

1,53

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103 387 4

7,44

61,

568

385 22 128

Bla

ck R

iver

Reg

ulat

ing

Dis

tric

t'H

udso

n R

iver

Reg

ulat

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Dis

tric

t'C

anal

Fun

d —

barg

eca

nal

con-

stru

ctio

nN

ew Y

ork

and

New

Jer

sey

Tun

nel

Fund

7,63

3

....

....

3,71

6

....

....

....

2,77

8

....

....

....

3,53

2

.,..

....

....

2,16

1

608

202 2

1,64

1

309

5

2,67

0

....

2

905

506

3

492

297

719

179

•...

Bar

ge C

anal

Fun

d —

mai

nten

ance

1,81

3an

d re

pair

sFe

dera

l Rur

al P

ost R

oads

Rev

olvi

ngFu

ndT

otal

expe

nditu

res

from

Spec

ial

Fund

sG

rand

Tot

al o

f al

l exp

endi

ture

s fr

omG

ener

al a

nd S

peci

al F

unds

2,14

42,

879

137

3,67

0

134

3,09

3

386

3,79

4 38

3,92

5

....

2,63

1

....

....

....

....

....

$11,

891

$10,

710

$11,

699

$13,

697

$10,

540

$8,7

41$7

,789

$8,8

1813

,645

$16,

638

$24,

636

$25,

765

$30,

803

$39,

018

$39,

542

$48,

128

$55,

151

$57,

866

$55,

856

$72,

372

of a

cqui

sitio

n of

land

, am

ount

ing

to$2

612

54...

.$

19...

.$2

5...

.V

Exc

lusi

ve o

f ac

quis

ition

of

land

, am

ount

ing

653

$752

1,07

1$9

781,

531

348

$581

$483

a E

xclu

sive

of

acqu

isiti

on o

f la

nd, a

mou

ntin

gto

-...

....

....

....

....

....

.87

91,

438

$1,4

26E

xclu

sive

of

acqu

isiti

on o

f la

nd, a

mou

ntin

gto

-...

....

....

....

.,•

..,,,

,30

21,

189

2,03

9

.Not

in S

tate

Tre

asur

y.I


eral Fund. An appropriation was made annually for this purposein the budget and the expenditures appear regularly as an item inthe General Fund Statements of the Comptroller's Annual Reports.The money, however, was immediately transferred to the SpecialCanal Fund, unexpended balances being returned at the end of theyear and figuring as an inter-se transaction in each case. But sincethe money comes out of the General Fund, it means that canalmaintenance and operation (but not new construction) has beenfinanced out of current revenue and from the proceeds of taxation.

By the Reorganization Act of 1926 a new system was intro-duced. The money for canal maintenance is no longer transferredto the Special Fund, but is expended instead by the Departmentof Public Works (Division of Canals and Waterways). This ex-plains why no expenditures on canal maintenance in 1928 appearagainst "Barge Canal Fund Maintenance" and why the figure for1927 is so much smaller than that for 1926. By 1928 these expendi-tures are all grouped under the Public Works Department.

All the other special funds (with oniy very minor exception)are financed out of bond issues exclusively. The Canal Fund has,as just pointed out, also been largely financed in this way forpurposes of canal construction. Although the expenditures onmaintenance and repairs come immediately out of the SpecialCanal Fund, they are tabulated with other expenditures financedout of taxes because they are derived from current revenue.

The data in these tables were extracted from the Annual Reportsof the Comptroller, 1919-1928 and show all the expenditures ofNew York State, for whatever purpose and however raised. Sev-eral exceptional cases, where the money does not come directly orwholly out of the state treasury and which require some explana-tion are as follows:

1. Hudson River and Black River Regulating Districts.—Thisis a small item, included in Table 18, of expenditures which, thoughnot out of the state treasury, are given in the Comptroller's reports,and are clearly for public construction.

2. Prison Capital Fund Expenditures.—The figures for the con-struction and maintenance of state prisons are included in Table18 under the heading "Department of Correction" (before 1927,"Penal"). The Prison Capital Fund, however, gets its revenuefrom prison industries, and the expenditures therefrom are notsubject to control by the state treasury, and do not figure in the

THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW YORK STATE 65

Comptroller's reports, but come under the jurisdiction of the prisonauthorities. Occasionally the funds are used for minor constructionand repair work; 'but the figures are so small as not to be worthtroubling about, and it is doubtful also whether they can be prop-erly regarded as public expenditures.

3. Interstate Bridge Commission.—This is the authoritycharged with constructing the Lake Champlain Bridge, a NewYork-Vermont Interstate project which has just been completed.The Commission had authority to borrow money in the New Yorkmoney. market, the debt to 'be paid off from the proceeds of thetolls charged for the use of the bridge. The Commission received$120,000 from the New York State General Fund in 1928.

4. Port of New York Authority.—This is a New York-NewJersey Interstate Commission, empowered to borrow money on itsown authority, its bonds to 'be paid off from the proceeds of thetolls charged for the use of its facilities. The figures for the expen-ditures of New York State in connection with the Commission,appear yearly in the Comptroller's reports and have been includedin the tables. The expenditures of the Port Authority itself, how-ever, since they are strictly speaking, expenditures of neither theNew York State nor the New York City government, have beentabulated separately.

5. Highways.—Federal aid for the construction of FederalRural Post Roads is a regular item in the State's accounts of itsexpenditures. There are the following four types of road construc-tion:

a. State Highways for which the state pays the whole cost.b. County Highways of which state and county share the cost.c. County Roads whose cost is borne by the county alone.d. Town Highways whose cost is borne by the state and city.

The shares of the counties and towns in (b) arid (d) do not ap-pear in the state accounts or in the tables, though all the work issupervised by the state Department of Public Works. This is thereason why the Highway Division of the Public Works Depart-ment has very much larger figures. for road construction expendi-tures in its annual reports than appear for the same item in theComptroller's reports. The latter exclude money expended bycounties and towns, whereas the Public Works Department reportsinclude such expenditures as an indication of the volume of high-


•way work done under state supervision, though they are not expen-ditures out of the state treasury.

In addition to bearing the entire cost of state highway work,and to sharing the cost of county and town highways with thevarious county and town authorities of the state, the state govern-ment also makes an annual grant for highway work to the counties

TABLE 19. — TOTAL EXPENDITURES ON PUBLIC CONSTRUCTIONIN NEW YORK STATE, 1925-1928

(In thousands)

SPENDING AGENCY 1925 1926 1927 1928

State GovernmentIncluding land $53,990 $60,644 $69,559 $73,583Excluding land 51,746 54,774 52,619 69,374Excluding land and state aid b 46,697 48,687 47,330 63,950

All counties, cities, villages and towns,except New York City .

Including land 125,958 140,626 156,425 146,374Excluding land (estimated)c 118,401 132,188 147,040 137,592

New York City: excluding land 132,871 131,394 143,545 132,721All governmental units, excluding land

State government b 46,697 48,687 47,330 63,950Counties, cities, villages and towns,

except New York City 118,401 132,188 147,040 137,592New York City 132,871 131,394 143,545 132,721

Total expenditures in entire state, excludingland $297,969 $312,269 $337,915 $34,263

SouRcE: New York State, Comptroiler'8 Annual Reports for State Government, and for Municipal Accountsfor Counties, Cities, etc.New York City, Comptroller's Annual Reports.It is impossible to carry this table back of 1925, as figures for counties, cities, etc., are not givenfor years prior to 1925 in utilizable form.

b State highway aid to counties and towns excluded from State Government expenditures to avoidduplication.

C Cost of land estimated on basis of expenditures for land by State Government.

and towns for their own use. These appear in the tables as "Con-struction and Improvement of Highways—State Aid to Counties"and "Repairs to Highways—State Aid to Towns." The tables forexpenditures of the state government.thus include only the expen-ditures on highways which come out of the state treasury.

Expenditures in the Area of New York State—It is of interest,in comparison with the expenditures on public works of the City


of New York and of the New York State government, to venturean estimate of the expenditures on permanent improvements ofall local governments in New York. A summary of such an estimateis given in Table 19, for each year from 1925 to 1928. It shows thatwhile the state government spent on public construction, exclu-sive of state aid, $63,950,000 in 1928; New York City, $132,721,-000; the remaining counties, cities, villages and towns expendedfor these purposes $137,592,000. Of a total expenditure on publicconstruction by all governments in the State of New York of $337,-915,000 in 1927, probably $150,000,000 were spent for the construc-tion of streets and highways, and probably $50,000,000 for schoolconstruction, although this last figure apparently includes expen-ditures for the acquisition of sites.32

The Initiation of Public Works by the New York State Gov-ernment.—Making appropriations for the ordinary requirementsof government and for permanent improvements is the function ofthe Governor and of the State Legislature. On or before the fif-teenth of October, the head of each department of the state gov-ernment submits to the Governor itemized estimates of proposedappropriations. The Governor, after hearings have been held, atwhich the attendance of heads of departments can be required, canrevise such estimates. Representatives from the Committees of theSenate and the Assembly are invited to attend the hearings.

On or before the 15th of the following January, the Governorsubmits to the Legislature the budget conta.ining a plan of proposedexpenditures. This annual budget is referred to the Senate Financeand the Assembly Ways and Means Committees for considerationand is subsequently reported with recommendations to the Legis-lature. These committees also consider all bills introduced in theLegislature carrying appropriations or providing for the expendi-tures of public money.83 The Governor may, before the Legislaturefinally votes upon the budget and not more than thirty days afterit has been submitted, amend or supplement it.. He may also, withthe consent of the Legislature, submit amendments or a supple-mentary bill at any time before the Legislature

The Governor and the departmental heads have right toappear and be heard in respect to the budget while it being con-

New York State Tax Commission, Annual Report, 1927, Table 36, pp. 584-590.New York State, Laws, of 1927, Ch. 131. See also Manual, 1929,

p.641.


sidered. The Legislature cannot alter an appropriation bill sub-mitted by the Governor except to strike out or reduce items in it,but it may add appropriation items if these are stated separatelyand distinctly from the original items of the bill and refer to somesingle object or purpose. When a bill has been passed by bothHouses it immediately becomes a law without further action bythe Governor.

Neither House can consider further appropriations until theappropriation bills proposed by the Governor have been finallyacted upon by both Houses. Further appropriations have to bemade by separate bills, each for a single object. The Governor,however, is at liberty to recommend that one or more of his pro-posed bills should be passed in advance of others to supply theimmediate needs of government or to meet an emergency.

Debt-Incurring Procedure.—Short term debts may be con-tracted in anticipation of the receipt of taxes for the purposes andwithin the amounts of 'budget appropriations. Long term debtsmust be authorized by law for a specified piece of work or purpose.Such a law is not effective until it has been submitted to the peo-ple and approved by them at a general election. All debts con-tracted after January 1, 1920, are required to be in the form ofserial bonds, with a maximum period of redemption of fifty years.

Long term debts may also be authorized by constitutionalamendment.34 The state debt for the elimination of railroad gradecrossings was created by this procedure. The debt, also, for the con-struction of public buildings and works was authorized by consti-tutional amendment in November, 1925.

The following tabulation shows the borrowings by the govern-ment of New York State for permanent improvements between1919 and

Year Long Term Bonds Temporary Loans Total

191919201921 $31,800,000

$ 600,0002,200,0006,500,000

$ 600,0002,200,000

38,300,0001922 '

192319241925192619271928

12,500,000

28,475,00022,500,000

. 25,00035,000

1,305,000833,000

3,450,000

.

25,00012,535,000

1,305,00029,308,00025,950,000

New York State Constitution, Article VII, secs. 14 and 15; also Article XIV.York State, Comptroller's Annual Reports.

June

9,1

921.

June

9,1

921.

June

9,1

921.

Tot

al f

isca

l yea

r 19

20—

21.

Apr

il 8,

192

4

Tot

al f

isca

l yea

r 19

23—

24.

Sept

. 24,

192

4

Tot

al f

isca

l yea

r 19

24—

25.

Sept

. 1, 1

926

Sept

. 1, 1

926

Sept

. 1, 1

926

Sept

. 1, 1

926

Sept

. 1, 1

926

Tot

al f

isca

l yea

r 19

26—

27.

Mar

ch 6

, 192

8M

arch

6, 1

928

Mar

ch 6

, 192

8

Tot

al f

isca

l yea

r 19

27—

28.

TA

BL

E 2

0. —

LON

GT

ER

M B

ON

D I

SSU

ES

BY

NE

W Y

OR

K S

TA

TE

GO

VE

RN

ME

NT

, 192

1-19

28G

IVIN

G I

NT

ER

EST

RA

TE

S A

ND

BA

SIC

YIE

LD

S

Dat

ePu

rpos

eIn

tere

stR

ate

Per

Cen

t

Ter

mof

Yea

rsA

mou

nt(I

nth

ousa

nds)

Pric

eB

asis

Per

Cen

t

Hig

hway

sFo

rest

pre

serv

esB

arge

can

al

5 5 5

av.

av.

av.

$20,

000

5,00

06,

800

$101

212

4.89

Sold

iers

' bon

us43

/i1—

25 S

er.

$31,

800

45,0

00

$101

.212

101.

4657

4.89

4.09

Stat

e in

stitu

tions

and

con

stru

ctio

n4

1—25

Ser

.

$45,

000

12,5

00

$101

.465

7

103.

41

4.09

3.65

.

Gra

decr

ossi

ngs

elim

inat

ion

Gen

eral

sta

te im

prov

emen

t—la

ndG

ener

al s

tate

impr

ovem

ent—

cons

truc

-tio

nSt

ate

park

sys

tem

—la

ndSt

ate

park

sys

tem

—de

velo

pmen

t

4 4 4 4 4

1—50

Ser

.1—

50 S

er.

1—25

Ser

.1—

50 S

er.

1—25

Ser

.

$12,

500

10,0

001,

650

8,35

05,

000

3,47

5

$103

.41

101.

9289

3.65

3.85

Stat

e in

stitu

tions

—bu

ildin

gG

ener

al s

tate

impr

ovem

ents

Gen

eral

sta

te im

prov

emen

ts

33/i

4 33%

1—25

Ser

.1—

25 S

er.

1—50

Ser

.

$28,

475

12,5

007,

600

2,40

0

$101

.928

9

100.

0799

3.85

3.69

21

Soua

ca: N

ew Y

ork

Stat

e, C

ompt

rolle

r's A

nnua

l Rep

orts

and

Mun

ie.i

pal B

ond

Buy

er, 1

918—

1928

.

$22,

500

8100

.079

93.

6921

CHART 9.—ANNUAL ISSUES OF LONG TERM BONDS AND TEMPORARYBORROWING BY NEW YORK STATE, 1919-1928.

Borrowinq for Public Impi ovemepts

LonQ Term Bcnth

leo

Basic'Yieldof Bonds Issued - - 4.09. 3.65 — 3.35 3,69

Figures for fiscal year endinq June 30Source: New York State Comptroller's 4 nnuat Reports and The Bond Buyer, Munteipat Bond Sates.

70

280

NetFunded 200

L'00C.4-0U'C0

a

I

40

30 -

20

10 -

0-

Temporary ta'ts

Borrowsno for Other F UrposesI I LOflQ Term Ba' ids

U'>'40

0'r

U,.'3II&

IC. ,

— 1

U•c-.

U,6J

a,

U,,

2.2ii — I

U'

CC0

4-

C

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925

I1926 1.927 1921


Between April 5, 1917, when $25,000,000 of state bonds weresold, and June 1921, there were no long term state loans becauseof the unsettled conditions of war and the attempt to restrict bor-rowing for capital purposes to absolute necessities.3" The long termbonds issued by the New York State Government, from 1921 to1928, are listed in Table 20, which describes in detail the amount,the dates of issue, purposes and terms of these borrowings.

The Financing of Public Works.—Permanent improvements arein New York State financed out of the General Fund, that is fromtax receipts, and out of Special Funds, which are mainly bondissues. Recourse to these two sources of expenditure has shiftedconsiderably during the history of the public works undertak-ings of the government, of the State of New York. In 1926 itwas possible to write that "since 1916 there has been a verymarked change in the percentage of permanent improvementsfinanced from bonds and from current revenues. In 1916, over 89per cent of the money going into improvements came from bor-rowed funds. In 1925 this had shrunk to 8.1 per cent, though thetotal amount spent had risen from sixteen to over thirty millionsof dollars. The current revenue devoted to permanent improve-ments has suddenly jumped from a few million dollars to an aver-age of over twenty million dollars for the last four years [1922-1925]. This represents some 15 per cent of the general fund ex-penditures for these years. This is a remarkable fiscal achievementand indicates the capacity of New York [State] to pay for im-provements from current revenues."

It is seen, however, in Table 21 that since 1925 there has againbeen a striking shift in the financing of public works from bondsand from current revenue. The percentage financed by borrow-ing rose sharply from 8 per cent in 1925 to 40.5 per cent in 1928and the increase of more than 50 per cent in total expendituresbetween 1925 and 1928 was met largely out of the proceeds ofbond issues. This has been due to the adoption of a new financialpolicy by the state government, carrying with it the creation ofspecial bond funds for the elimination of grade crossings, build-ings, and other state improvements.

New York State, Comptroller's Annuat Report, 1920, p; XIV.New York State Legislative Document, 1926, No. 70; Report of Special Joint

Committee on Taxation and Retrenchment, The Debt of the State of New York,pp. 79, 81.

CHART ON PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION BY NEWYORK STA'] E GOVERNMENT, 1919-1928

FUNDSMillions

of20

l0

5

0

Source: New York State Comptr iller's Ann.ual Reports.72

1928

I- —

-

I

II

TABLE 21. — TOTAL EXPENDITURES ON PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTSBY. NEW YORK TATE GOVERNMENT, 1908-1928 a

(In thousands)

EXPEN DITURES FOR PERMANENT TOTAL DEBTIMPROVEMENTS SERVICE

TOTAL

________________________________ _________________

EXPENDI-FISCAL TURES FINANCED F] CM FINANCED FROM PER CENT

YEAR FROM TEE CUEBENTREV iNUE BORROWING OF TOTALGENERAL -— ——— TOTAL AMOUNT

EXPENDI-FUNDb TURES

Amount Amount Percent (Col. 2)

(1) (2) (3) (&) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

1908 $34,279 $2,220 'LS $8,108 78.5 $10,328 $5,675 16.61909 39,138 2,786 'r.1 11,875 81.0 14,661 6,275 16.01910 38,235 3,845 1').! 13,061 77.3 16,906 2,097 5.51911 38,035 3,611 ).5 22,091 85.9 25,702 2,655 7.01912 44,702 4,878 1 ).9 23,327 82.7 28,205 4,157 9.31913 49,836 4,419 .9 29,274 86.9 33,694 6,789 13.61914 53,563 2,686 5.0 29,792 91.7 32,478 9,669 18.11915 57,034 3,952 3.9 23,557 85.6 27,510 . 7,681 13.51916 52,497 1,720 L3 14,267 89.2 15,987 9,589 18.31917 60,881 2,263 L7 17,105 88.3 19,368 10,548 17.31918 73,143 3,212 14 13,587 80.9 16,799 13,168 18.01919 78,341 3,865 19 13,212 77.4 17,077 13,330 17.01920 7,717 3.2 8,732 53.1 16,449 13,592 14.51921 135,608 16,196 1 [.9 8,671 34.9 24,866 15,585 11.51922 126,669 19,450 15.4 8,488 30.4 27,939 10,441 8.21923 131,869 18,036 13.7 5,549 23.5 23,585 12,079 9.21924 146,457 23,066 1.5.8 4,396 16.0 27,462 11,679 8.01925 161,587 27,663 17.1 2,422 8.1 30,084 15,150 9.41926 173,192 23,312 13.5 6,144 20.9 29,456 15,759 9.11927 184,184 24,130 13.1 14,310 37.2 38,440 15,243 8.31928 212,626 26,915 12.7 18,302 40.5 45,217 17,379 8.2

SOURCE: New York State, Legislative D icument 1926, No. 70, The Debt of the State of New York, p. 80,for years up to 1925. Figure, for 1926—1928 calculated directly from Comptroller's AnnualReports.

a Expenditures on the acquisitiot of land have been included throughout. The figures for totalexpenditures on permanent imp, ovements in this table do not agree with the totals in the detailedtables for expenditures on publi a construction. The figures here are for new construction alone,and do not include expendituref for maintenance, repairs or reconstruction; nor for operation oradministration; nor state aid t, localities and federal aid to state. The composition of thesefigures, however, is consistent ti roughout the table, thus making the relative percentage accountsfinanced by tax receipts and bo Towing from year to year strictly comparable.

6 Figures in this column are for t tal expenditures of all kinds except capital expenditures financedfrom borrowing.

74


1. The Elimination of Railroad Grade Crossings.—In 1925 thepeople of New York State voted to amend the Constitution byapproving in a referendum a state bond issue of $300,000,000, forthe purpose of eliminating dangerous crossings. This bond issue wasauthorized to meet the state share and to provide for loans tothe railroads and the local communities to cover their share of thecost of the work.

By the Grade Crossings Elimination Act (Chap. 233, Laws of1926, April 5, 1926) all crossings at grade, outside of the cities ofNew York, Syracuse and Buffalo, come under the jurisdiction ofthe state Public. Service Commission. The City of Syracuse hasits own grade crossing commission and the City of Buffalo itsgrade crossing and terminal commission. In New York City suchwork falls within the jurisdiction of the Transit Commission (notto be confused with the Board of Transportation). Although theelimination of grade crossings in these three cities lies butside thejurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of New York State,the work is financed out of the bond issue of $300,000,000.

Operations were by the Commission in June, 1926. Itsoon developed, however, that many of the local communitieswhose assessed valuations were low, were unable to finance theirportion of the cost. In 1927, therefOre, a second amendment to theConstitution was passed (Chap. 445, Laws of 1927) whereby thecity or county instead of the local community was, with the sta.teand the railroads to share in the cost of elimination. The Constitu-tion, at that time, provided that the railroads should pay 50 percent, the state, 25 per cent and the local community, 25 per cent.In order to lighten the burden of the county or city, the new con-stitutional amendment while leaving the railroads' share at 50 percent, allowed the Legislature to increase the state's share andlower that of the county or city. Under this provision, in 1928, theshare of the state was increased to 40 per cent and the share of thecity or county reduced to 10 per cent. Even this apportionment lefttoo heavy a burden on the local governments, so that in 1929, thelaw was once more amended 38 and the respective shares of thestate, the county and the railroads were fixed at 49, 1, and 50 percent of the cost of elimination.39

New York State, Laws of 1929, Ch. 645.New York State, The Highway Law, 1929, p. 385.

BY NEW YORK ;TATE GOVERNMENT, 1895-1928 a(In thousands)

TABLE 22. —EXPENDITURES FOR HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

Year

TotalExpendi-

tures

(Cols. 3 & 4)

Expendi-tures

from Bondsfor StateHighways

TotalExpendi-

turesfrom

GeneralRevenues

(Cols. 5 & 6)

Expendi-turesfrom

Revenuesfor State

Highways

State Aidto Counties

fromGeneral

Revenues

Percentageof TotalHighway

ExpendituresProvided

fromGeneral

Revenues b

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

1895189618971898189919001901190219031904190519061907190819091910191119121913191419151916191719181919192019211922192319241925192619271928

$58

125385

316658

1,3621,5782,150

891220

1,7043,8593,5653,7035,9047,110

11,8859,465

10,8615,1735,5303,7842,2675,710

10,50015,31811,19210,56312,59012,38914,34218,976

$58

125385

316658

1,3621,5782,150

891220

5375

772620

2326

1531,7325,3688,6087,2537,904

11,24711,67313,91418,528

$58

123

112171465702648891220

5375

772620

.2326

1531,7323,9175,9034,9535,5098,8629,298

11,53416,152

100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

0.00.00.01.40.10.10.60.30.20.00.40.76.7

30.351.156.264.874.889.394.297.097.6

$1,7043,8593,5653,6495,8977,105

11,8089,439

10,8415,1735,5073,7582,1143,9785,1326,7103,9392,6591,343

716428448

$5085

204487897876

1,502

1,4512,7052,3002,3952,3852,3752,3802,376

Souncn: New York State, Legislative Doofor years 1895—1925; years 1928

a These figures are for new construrepairs or administration; nor frural post roads. Compositionin Tables 17 and 13. The differe

b The percentage represented by e38.5 in 1922, 44.5 in 1923, 52.2 ix

tments 1926, No. 70, Tho Debt of the State of New York. pp. 70—71,-1928 calculated directly from Comptroller's Annua' Reports.etion only. They do not include expenditures for maintenance,r state aid to towns for repairs, nor federal aid to the state forf these figures up to 1925 not exactly the same as that of figuresace, however, is on the whole so slight as to be negligible.

for state highways alone (col. 5) was 37.3 in 1921,1924, 70.4 in 1925, 75.1 in 1926, 80.4 in 1927 and 85.1 in 1928.

76


Prior to the enactment of the Grade Crossings Elimination Actof 1926, all such work was done under the authority of the existingRailroad Law. Alterations to existing structures which carry thehighway over or under a railroad still come under the provisionsof this law and the state's share of such alterations must come outof the funds available for highway construction.4° Before 1926,therefore, the state had no long-time policy for the elimination ofgrade crossings.

2. The Financing of Highway Construction.—Prior to 1898the building and maintenance of public roads in New York Statewas the function of local governments. A large-scale program bythe state government began in 1905 with the authorization, bypopular vote, of a $50,000,000' bond issue for highway construction.In 1907 the state adopted a plan for the improvement of 14,000miles of roads. By 1912, when bond issues were exhausted and nocurrent revenue was available for road building, the project of1907 was little more than half-completed. In 1912, therefore, thestate legislature was empowered again to contract' for a furtherbond issue of $50,000,000. "Although the two bond issues, totaling$100,000,000, have furnished the bulk of the funds for highwayconstruction, current revenues are contributing an increasingly im-portant share . . . [and] the present trend indicates that borrow-ing [for this purpose] will [in the future] be unnecessary."

3. Expenditures for Public Buildings.—The first substant,ia.lexpenditures on public buildings, derived from borrowings, beganin 1925. Before then all buildings erected by the State of New Yorkwere paid for without the issue of special bonds. In 1925 "the firstbonds were sold for building construction," when "$12,500,000 wasborrowed under the $50,000,000 authorization of 1923." 42 There-after the amounts spent out of borrowings increased until theyconstituted in 1928 more than two-thirds of the total expenditures.

New York State, Department of Public Works, Annual Report of the Superin-tendent, 1928, pp. 76, 80-81.

New York State, Legislative Document, 1926, No. 70, ibid., pp. 69, 72.New York State, Legislative Document, 1926, No. 70, ibid., p. 77; see also Laws

of New York State, Ch. 591.

78 PLANNING AND CONTROL OF PUBLIC. WORKS

TABLE 23. — EXPENDITURI FOR BUILDINGS BY NEW YORK STATE1908-1928

(In thousands)

EXPENDITURES PERCENTAGE

FROM EXPENDITURES EXPENDITURESYEAR

CURRENT FROM FROM

REVENUE BONDS CURRENTREVENUE

1008 $1,843 100.0

1909 2,780 100.0

1910 3,777 100.0

1911. . 3,598 100.0

1912 . 4,791 100.0

1913. 4,244 100.0

1914 . 2,571 100.0

1915. 3,900 100.0

1916. 1,720 100.0

1917. 2,219 100.0

1918. 3,081 100.0

1919. 3,300 100.0

1920 . 4,578 100.0

1921. 5,423 100.0

1922. 5,637 100.0

1923 4,127 .... 100.01924. .. 6,163 $3 99.95

1925. 6,912 577 92.31926.... 6,081 3,522 63.3

1927 . 5,535 9,460 36.9

1928. 6,136 13,189 31.8

SOURCE: New York State. Legislative Doc ument 1926, No. 70, p. 77, for years 1908—1925; years 1926—1928calculated directly from Comptr iller's AnnualComposition of figures up to 19 l5 not exactly the same as that of figures in detailed Table 17but the difference is on the whol so slight as to be negligible. Expenditures on the acquisitionof land have been included throi ghout, except in 1920, 1927 and 1928 when this item has beenexduded in both columns, thus i iaking the percentage comparable for all years.

4. Canal and Park Corstruction.—Thesa declining items in thestate budget for permanel improvements have a contrasting his-tory since 1919. Expenditures for the rebuilding of canals are nowfinanced wholly out of cu 'rent revenue and the cost of parks andforest preserves apparenti increasingly out of loans. The sourcesof expenditures for each çurpose are shown in the following tabu-lation:

1919192019211922192319241925192619271928

Canals

3.625.765.388.284.696.698.9

100.0100.0100.0

3.10.5

23.69.88.9

28.468.035.810.713.0

improvement of terminal facilities, the relief of confusion at ship-ping centers, and the cbnstructioii of bridges, tunnels and belt-linerailroads. In 1926 the Port Authority was directed by the legisla-tures of New York and New Jersey to erect two bridges betweenStaten Island and New Jersey, commonly known as the ArthurKill Bridges. Later the Port Authority was further directed to buildthe Kill Van Kull Bridge between Staten Island and Bayonne,New Jersey, and the Hudson River Bridge between WashingtonHeights and Fort Lee.

In financing these projects, the Port Authority is.. required toraise funds on its own credit. It is not limited as to the amount ofsecurities it issues, except that it must meet debt charges and ad-ministration and maintenance, costs out of the earnings of its faáili-ties. The agreement between the two states expressly forbids thePort Authority to pledge the credit of either.


Year

Percentage of Total Expenditures Derived from CurrentRevenue

Parks and Forest Preserves

a. New York State, Legislative Document, 1926, No. 70, pp.: 66, 75. Thefor 192&-1928 obtained directly from the Comptroller's Annual Reports.

figures

5. Financing Through Specialtime to time used in York;the financing and construction ofunder the jurisdiction of a quasi-pthe specific purpose. The Port orportant agency of this character.New Jersey Commission created int.o conceive and plans,

device is fromas well as elsewhere, of placingrevenue-producing public worksublic agency, usually created forNew York Authority ìè an im-It is an Interstate New. York-1921 as the agent of these statesapprd'iied by the states, for, the

80 PLANNING AND OF PUBLIC WORKS

Unexhausted Bond ue Aüthorizations.—Bond authorizationsare not usually issued ii nmediately after authorization or evenwithin a short period of time. Knowledge, therefore, of the volumeof bonds authorized is n index of the probable schedule of ex-penditures. The condition of authorized bond issues for state insti-tutions and buildings, tE e state park system, general state im-

TABLE 24. — CONDITION OF UNEXHAUSTED BOND ISSUES AUTHORIZEDBY NEW YORK STATE ERNMENT AT END OF FISCAL YEAR 1928

(In thousands)

STINSTfl UTIONS

Buix DINGFi FND

STATE

SYSTEM

GENERALSTATE

IMPROVEMENT

GRADECROSSINGS

ELIMINATIONFuND

Date of authorization...Law or constitutional

amendmentAmount of issue

authorizedAmount appropriated

up to June 30, 1928..Total of bonds issued

up to June 30, 1928..Expenditures from bond

funds up to June 30,1928

Authorized bonds stillunissued on June 30,1928

Nov. 6 1923

1923°, 591

350 000

50 000

25,000

17779

25,000

Nov. 4, 1924.

1924°,Ch.622

$15,000

15,000

8,475

6,279

6,525

Nov. 3, 1925

Art.b 7, Sec. 15

$100,000

20,000

20,000.

12,057

80,000

Nov. 3, 1925

Art.b 7, Sec. 14

$300,000

70,000

10,000

436

290,000

SOURCE: New York State, Com,ptroller'a tnnual Reports, Laws of the State of New York and Constitutionof the State of New York.

° New York State, Lato8.6 New York State, Constitutiona Amendment.

provement, and for grad crossings elimination, shown in Table24, indicates the considers ble lag between authorization to borrowand actual outlays.

Future Projects.—The preparation of a time schedule for thepublic works already in t] ie main planned and for which arrange-ments for financing have i n large part been made is again the diffi-cult problem. Much is kn )Wfl regarding the future permanent im-provements of the goverr.ment of the State of New York and ofsuch a body as the Port f New York Authority, but the conver-


sion of these known plans into forecasts of annual expenditurescan be regarded only as approximate estimates. Such estimates offuture projects, made as of November, 1929, are contained in thefollowing tabulation:

1. State institutions, planned, but not yet begun $ 44,500,0002. State institutions actually under construction. Contracts

amounting to $67,000,000 have already been let. It is esti-mated that half of this work has been completed, leavingcontracted expenditures for the future 33,500,000

3. Highways and bridges, probable minimum annual expendituresin future 43,000,000

4. Elimination of grade crossings, planned, minimum estimate.. 30,000,0005. Canals, approximate annual expenditure not more than 1,000,0006. Port Authority, program for next 2% to 2½ years involves

estimated expenditure of $56,000,000 or an annual expendi-ture of 23,200,000

Total $175,200,000

This total of $175,200,000 which is, of course, far in excess ofthe annual. expenditures of 'both New York State and the Port ofNew York Authority during the past years is no forecast of whatwill actually be spent during any of the next years. It is at the bestan estimate of the amount that could be spent in any year, if anemergency dictated maximum expenditures and if the usual ob-stacles to the swift execution of public works were minimized.

The Planning and Control of Permanent Improvements.—Viewed historically, the program of permanent improvements ofthe New York State government suffered what may be described asa natural retardation because of the reluctance of the authoritiesto finance public works by long-term loans and because of theirinability to pay for larger projects out of current income. Accelera-tion has thus been achieved in these latest years 'by a change infinancial policy and the financing of many projects through bor-rowings. Aside from unfavorable conditions in the money market,there is still a substantial lag between the time when additionalfunds become available or can he made so and the time when aspecific project is planned, initiated, and completed. The experi-ence of individual state departments indicates that projects canfrequently be accelerated, even in the face of what are normallyregarded as limiting factors.

The State Division of Highways normally supervises 350 milesof new construction a year and 400 miles of reconstruction. It isconservatively estimated that there are about 4,000 miles of high-

-r - - --


ways of the state system i vhich require reconstruction and widen-ing within the next four YE ars. At the rate prevailing in the past, itwould take ten years to c mplete this amount of work. It is be-lieved that decided economy would be achieved if the work weredone in four years.43

It is not difficult to increase highway construction at shortnotice. The chief factor holds up construction work is the

CHART 12.—APPROPRIATIOYS FOR BUILDING, BALANCES AVAILABLEFROM PREVIOUS YEARS, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AWARDEDAND COMPLETED, NEW YORK STATE GOVERNMENT,

Millionsof Doflers

50L::::'I Appropriations

Balance Available I40 v///xi Contracts Awari led I I fl

Contracts Camp eked IIh p

30 Ii IiI Ii I I, I

I IU I I Iii• /

I

I

____dLi

11924 925 1926 1927 1928 1929

Source: New York State Department of t ubUc Works; Report to the Governor on Pro press ofCon Augu8t,

necessity of acquiring the right of way from the counties. Were itnot for this, the Division cf Highways would be ready to let all itscontracts as soon as funds become available. Contracts in variousstages of completion are h Id up for one reason or another, but theplans for all of them are complete and much work is on the booksof the Division, at any mc ment. If, also, emergency funds becomeavailable, plans could be d: 'awn very rapidly, since planning of thistype of work is largely ndardized.

The counties have to acquire the right of way for the state.The Public Works Departr ient submits its plans and other relevant

Intewiew with C. C. Ahies, Senior Assistant Engineer, Division of Highways,Department of Public Works.


material to the county authorities for their approval.be rapidly obtained were it not for the fact that the authorizationlies in the hands of the supervisors who are not permanent officials.The necessity of acquiring the right of way in this manner ofteninvolves the greatest delays in the progress of the construction

ChART BETWEEN TOTAL VALUE OF BUILDING CON-TRACTS AWARDED SINCE JANUARY 1, 1924, AND CONTRACTS COM-PLETED SINCE JANUARY 1, 1925, NEW YORK STATE GOVERNMENT.

Millionsof Dollars

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

I0

0

(July 15t)

Source: New York State Department of Public Works; Report to the Governor on Pro presa of BuildingAugust, 1929.

work. It often takes as much as six to nine months to acquire theright of way in any given instance.

In the elimination of grade crossings, also, retardation of theprojects is due partly to joint administration by the state and therailroads and partly to extended, quasi-judicial procedures that

This could

924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929


necessarily precede the ordering of any specific elimination project.In the fall of 1927, the Department of Public Works submittedto the Public Service Commission a program covering 202 elimi-nation projects recommended for consideration during 1928. Atthe close of 1928, however, the projects ordered during the yearnumbered only 122 at an estimated cost of less than $18,000,000,while the number placed under construction during the year was65, at an estimated cost of a little more than $2,500,000. The num-ber completed during the year was 34 and their estimated cost was

For any major elimination project, it is estimated that abouttwo years of negotiation and preparation are required before con-struction work is begun.45 About one year on the average is con-sumed with hearings, decisions, the issuing of instructions and thelike; a second year is required for making detailed plans, specifica-tions and organizing the work. Hearings on a project are held, afterthe Public Service Commission has placed the particular project onthe official program for consideration. The railroads, the state rep-resented by the Public Works Department, and the local authori-ties appear before the Commission. The Public Works Departmentor the railroad is then authorized to prepare surveys and prelimi-nary estimates of cost. Each elimination project is thus consideredseparately and the procedure described is involved in the considera-tion of each one of them.

At later hearings the plans are presented before the Commis-sion. The railroads, the local authorities, and the Public WorksDepartment then have an opportunity to criticize one another'splans, either in their engineering or financial aspects. At times asmany as ten different plans have been presented to the Commis-sion. Finally the Commission closes the hearings. It then choosesone of the plans, with such changes as it deems necessary, anddirects either the railroad or the Public Works Department to pro-ceed with the project in accordance with the provisions of its or-der. After this, either the railroad or the Public Works Depart-ment proceeds with the preparation of detailed plans, specificationsand th,e letting of contracts.

New York State, Department of Public Works, Annual Report of the Superin-tendent, 1928, p. 67.

Interview with H. 0. Schermerhorn, Engineer of Bridges and Grade Crossings,Division of Engineering, Department of Public Works.

TABLE 25. — COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT ON STATE HIGHWAYSIN NEW YORK STATE, 1923-1929

DATE a

NUMBEREMPLOYED

BYCONTRACTORS

1923

MAINTENANCEFORCE

EMPLOYEDBY

STATE

TOTAL

JulyAugust....September.October.

1924

7,0786,9285,8795,006

5,2984,2633,965

3,389

MayJuneJulyAugustSeptember..October.November..

12,376

11,191

9,844

8,395

4,093

7,112

7,8278,3967,8376,5754,970

1925

4,728

4,844

5,0974,7764,5844,5953,9.94

8,821

11,956

12,924

13,172

12,421

11,1708,964

MayJuneJulyAugust..September.October...November.

6,6807,7357,9328,1487,3815,1663,585

4,9975,a685,3275,422

5,039

4,521

2,633

11,677

13,103

13,259

13,570

12,420

9,687

6,218

MayJuneJulyAugust....September.October...November.

5,4446,8317,9088,0488,1746,4634,589

1927

4,9585,5965,8685,6995,4164,803

3,658

10,402

12,427

13,77613,74713,59011,2668,247

MayJuneJulyAugust....September.October.November.

6,6628,866

10,6289,6537,809

5,5066,1505,8615,5395,014

4,865

5,531

12,168

15,016

15,965

16,16714,667

12,6743,770 9,301

85


TABLE 25. — COURSE OF. EMPLOYMENT ON STATE HIGHWAYSIN NEW YORK STATE, 1923-1929----(Continued)

DATE

.

EMPLOYEDBY

CONTRACTORS

MAINTENANCEFORCE

EMPLOYEDBY

STATE

TOTAL

MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember

MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember

6,4457,7629,173

10,6359,8567,7735,700

7,0068,7859,517

10,3169,2487,5485,345

6,0986,1036,1936,2465,5724,9193,250

5,7095,7715,8135,8435,3734,9913,200

12,54313,86515,36616,88115,42812,6928,950

12,71514,55615,33016,15914,62112,5398,545

SormcE: New York State, Department of Public Works, Division of Highways.a Covers last week of month indicated. Na data available, December through April.

By the terms of the Grade Crossings Elimination Act,46 thedifficulties in acquiring right of way required for grade crossingelimination work are not as great as they are in the case of highwayconstruction. Under present conditions possession can be taken ofproperty, as soon as a map is filed, whereas the outright purchaseof land or the conduct of condemnation proceedings formerly de-layed the work for three or four months. Now the land is takenfirst and disputes and settlements adjusted later.

These two illustrations of important and expensive permanentimprovements, projected by the government of the State of NewYork, do not reveal any inherent obstacles to the acceleration ofthe enterprises at times when sound public policy would appear todictate speed. The significant fact is that these improvements arenormally retarded, and not necessarily on account of insuperablefinancial problems or because of the unimportance of the project.

New York State, The Highway Law, 1929, p. 379 if.


The Numbers on Public Works.—A large part of thepublic works of the government of New York State and of specialenterprises, like those of the Port Authority of New York, is farmedout to contractors and no record of contractors' payrolls is avail-able. It is for this reason impossible to estimate the total numbersemployed on such projects. Judged by the experience of New YorkCity, it is probable that the New York State government employedon the average in 1929, directly and indirectly, some 20,000 per-sons. The record of employment in the construction and mainte-nance of state highways, given in Table 25, shows an average em-

I

ployment, during seven months from May to November, of morethan 13,000, with very decided seasonal fluctuations.

Documents

The Government of New York State