Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush today attended the board meeting of the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District armed with several questions in regard to recent spending sprees by the regulating district’s board and administration.

“With hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted by the regulating district’s board for administration, lawyers and expensive office space, it’s no wonder the Hudson River side is broke. Taking the assets of the Black River area to shore up the broke Hudson River side is not only bad policy, but it’s also against the law,” the assemblyman said.

State law dictates that the Hudson and Black River budgets must remain separate, and the state comptroller upheld that law in 2009.

“A vote by the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District Board to co-mingle funds would not only negatively affect the Black River region, but also stands to financially drown the entire entity,” the assemblyman added.

Although the regulating district is projected to run out of money on the Hudson River side, the board has approved several new expenditures and continues to overlook other unnecessary costs, including:

• Hiring a new full-time executive director at $97,500 per year, after a year of having no executive director. Total new expenses for this hire are over $125,000;
• Appointing an Acting Hudson River Area Administrator at $68,000;
• Duplicative office space in Albany and the Sacandaga field office. Today, only four employees work in the expansive, over 5,000-square-foot complex in Sacandaga; and
• Administrative staff in Albany that includes a full-time counsel at $92,500, full-time chief financial officer at $87,500, administrative assistant at $64,000 and executive director at $97,500. No administrative cuts were made when 12 employees were laid off by the Sacandaga field office.

In regard to the above examples, which Assemblyman Blankenbush considers wasteful spending, the assemblyman brought to the board meeting the following questions:

• Why did you approve $30,000 in new administrative salaries for the same people doing the same job for the past year?
• Why were these “promotions” approved when the majority of the operating personnel were laid off as work has been dramatically reduced?
• Why do you have a full-time attorney when you are represented by the Attorney General? A part-time general counsel would be significantly cheaper, as historically that was what the district has used.
• Why do you maintain an Albany office when you have ample space in the Sacandaga field office?
• If this is a loan from the Black River side to the Hudson side, why aren’t there terms of repayment in the resolution? Does that mean that the board does not expect the Hudson side to repay the loan?
• If the Black River side loaned the Hudson side $3 million, how does the board plan to pay the remaining $1.9 million in back taxes?
• It is my understanding that 2011-2012 property and school taxes are going to be coming due in the next 30 days. How does the board plan on paying for these additional taxes?
• How many of you stayed overnight here for this board meeting? Another unnecessary expense.

“It is evident to me that with these examples of unnecessary and wasteful spending, the Hudson side, the board and its administration are more vested in themselves than serving the residents and communities of these areas.

“This attempt to force the Black River region to lend the Hudson River money to pay its debts is nothing more than an attempt by the eastern region of the state to bully the North Country. As one of the state legislators representing the Black River region, I join my colleagues in supporting a split of the regulating district into two separate entities with two separate boards,” the assemblyman added.