Yonkers Tribune

NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli Asserts IDA Reform Needed

Legislation Proposed to Ensure Projects Meet Economic Goals

ALBANY, NY -- New York's Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) supported 4,444 projects and provided nearly $500 million in net tax exemptions in 2010, but projects were down and cumulative job gains decreased by 22,000 from the prior year, according to an annual performance report released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report noted for the second straight year that there appears to be limited correlation between higher tax exemptions and job creation.

DiNapoli’s Bill Targeting Pension Abuse Passed by State Legislature

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Legislature passed legislation Monday night, June 20, 2011,  to boost State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s ability to catch those who abuse the state pension system. The bill grants the Comptroller’s office access to State Department of Taxation and Finance's wage reporting system to identify New York State and Local Retirement System retirees working for local governments who exceed the state’s post-retirement earnings limitation. If a state or local government employee earns more than those limits, the Comptroller has the authority to suspend and recoup any excess pension payments. 

State Comptroller Thomas P. Dinapoli Statement on VLT Contract

Albany, NY, september 7, 2010 -- "Contrary to news coverage, my office is not holding up approval on the Video Lottery Terminals (VLT)  contract.

"Even though my office has not yet received the executed contract with the appropriate approvals and signatures, we have been actively reviewing the VLT procurement, including the draft contract, since the Division of the Lottery awarded it three weeks ago.  During that time, we have been in contact with Lottery to address a number of questions and concerns.  Late last week, we received a new, revised, unsigned draft of the contract from Lottery.  

A.G. Cuomo's Investigation About Pension Padding

ALBANY, NY -- July 8, 2010 -- In March 2010, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo commenced an investigation into a recurring problem known as “pension padding" or “pension spiking”– the manipulation of salary and overtime payments to inflate the ultimate pension benefits paid to retirees.

The New York State Office of the Attorney General (“NYSAG”) collected data from various State and local agencies, municipalities, and authorities, from across the State, which participate in the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Comptroller DiNapoli’s Audit of the Yonkers Public School District

Superintendent of Yonkers School District Bernard Pierorazio (left), and NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (right).

June 25, 2010, Albany, NY -- Although the Board adopted a procurement policy and District officials developed procedures to implement the policy, these policy and procedures did not provide guidelines for the use and evaluation of requests for proposals (RFPs) for awarding energy service companies contracts and professional services contracts. We reviewed the process used to award contracts to energy service companies and professional services providers who received contracts totaling approximately $19 million. We found that the District did not always document the reason for selecting a bidder, did not always award the bid to the lowest responsible bidder and in some instances, did not use RFPs when soliciting professional services. The Board has not adopted comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure that access to the District’s computerized financial data is restricted to only those functions required by individual employee’s job duties. In addition, District officials have not implemented access controls to ensure proper segregation of duties within the computer system and to limit access to users based on their job descriptions and responsibilities. 

Time to Pass a Budget By NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli

DiNapoli Finds Buchanan Can’t Account for $365,000 in Grants Raised for Construction of Community Center

 May 24, 2010, Albany, NY -- Buchanan village officials never used $365,000 in grants originally meant to construct a community center that was never built, and cannot account for how the moneys were spent, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. 

Comptrollers DiNapoli and Liu Team Up to Audit MTA

    Audit Will Examine Fiscal Impact of Service Disruptions, Management Efficiency

May 13, 2010, New York, NY -- New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli (left) and New York City Comptroller John C. Liu (right) today announced their offices would conduct a joint audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The comptrollers said the audit would review the fiscal and community impact of subway and commuter rail service disruptions, as well as how effectively and efficiently the MTA managed the planned service changes. 

DiNapoli Asserts State Could Run Short of Cash

Albany, NY -- April 21, 2010 --  State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today reported that New York State finished the 2009-10 fiscal year with a General Fund balance of $2.3 billion. The state only ended the fiscal year in the black because the Governor delayed $2.9 billion in payments. By pushing these payments into the new fiscal year, the state could run out of money in June. 

DiNapoli: Sales Tax Collections Worst In Recent History

 Weak Performance Expected to Continue This Year 

Albany, NY -- Counties across New York State, including New York City, saw one of the sharpest declines in sales tax collections on record, according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.  The report, which compares 2009 to 2008 collections, found a 5.9 decrease in collections statewide.  Only four counties saw an increase but these numbers were primarily due to administrative and technical adjustments, not better economic performance.