By Steve Levy
Legislation in Albany is now moving forward on the state level in a number of areas due in part to the white papers published by our Center for Cost Effective Government. If you agree with them, please contact your state representative.
1. A control board for the MTA
Our Center was the first to propose placing the Metropolitan Transit Authority under a fiscal control board, and now we see that legislation has been introduced by Senator Dean Murray (R-Patchogue) at our urging to do just that.
We have long believed that the MTA doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Our white paper identified the many areas of inefficiency and waste within this behemoth. Control boards helped straighten out the finances of Detroit, San Bernardino and many other public entities throughout the nation. It’s time for the MTA to get control of its own spending, even if they are required to do so through a state oversight board. That’s a far better option than congestion pricing, higher tolls, and increased rates to ride the railroad and subways.
2. A spending cap for New York State.
Our Center called out the hypocrisy of the state in mandating that counties, towns and schools cap their taxes and spending, yet exempted themselves. Our white paper disclosed that, had the state put in place a cap on its own spending at the same time it mandated it for other levels of government, the state budget would be a whopping $80 billion lower than it is today. Fortunately, a number of state reps including Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) and Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Smithtown) have put forth a bill to have the state adhere to a spending cap. Our study shows that those areas that have caps prosper far more than those states that do not.
3. A separate transportation entity for Long Island
The Center Cost Effective Government was the first entity to call upon the state and federal governments to provide Long Island with its own Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) rather than having it continue to fall under the umbrella of New York City’s.
In our white paper, we pointed out that, with a population of three million, Long Island would be the nation’s third-largest city. However, the amount of aid that we get pales in comparison to cities such as Los Angeles or Chicago. Even worse, we don’t even get the same amount of money as the smaller cities, such as Atlanta or San Francisco. That’s because when the feds give money to the metropolitan area, the overwhelming majority of it goes to the New York City transit system. They then look upon that money as being funding directed toward Long Island. It’s not. Had we been in our own MPO, the feds would see our tremendous needs and fund us accordingly without being under the shadow of New York City.
Our report led to a partnership with the Long Island Contractors Association. That ultimately led to a major press conference with the county executive, members of Congress and the state legislature, who called for the creation of a MPO for Long Island, just as our center urged. State Assemblyman Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) has joined with state Senator Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) to put forth the legislation. Let’s hope this is the year it passes.
Steve Levy is Executive Director of the Center for Cost Effective Government, a fiscally conservative think tank. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of “The Steve Levy Radio Show.”