News from New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF)

For more information contact: Darcy Wells, (518) 785-1900 Ext. 277 or (518) 859-1274

PEF Praises Governor’s Effort To Save Taxpayer Dollars

ALBANY, NY (06/06/2008; 1340)(readMedia)-- The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) today applauded Gov. David Paterson’s executive order requiring that contracts between state agencies and private consultants be justified by savings to the taxpayers, and open to full public scrutiny.

In recent years, bipartisan reports by separate comptrollers and a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) determined millions of tax dollars were wasted annually through the use of expensive private consultants when, in most cases, public employees could do the same work for less.

“This is a great day for New York state taxpayers and it’s public servants,” said PEF President Ken Brynien. “It ensures the taxpayer gets the best value, and it’s an acknowledgment of the efficiency of public employees.”

“The effective implementation of this executive order could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for taxpayers,” added FPI Executive Director Frank Mauro.

In addition to thanking Gov. Paterson, Brynien also acknowledged the work of state Sen. Joseph Robach, and Assembly Member Donna Lupardo, who spearheaded a legislative effort related to the order by sponsoring legislation adopted in 2006 requiring the cost of state contracts with private consultants be fully disclosed.

President Brynien also recognized the important advocacy of state Assembly Member Susan John, and Sen. Vincent Leibell, who sponsored legislation calling for cost-benefit analysis of consultant contracts. “The John/Leibell bill was the stimulus that helped to initiate the discussions leading to this executive order,” Brynien said.

Republican former state Comptroller Ned Regan and Democratic former state Comptroller H. Carl McCall were among the first to alert the public to the high cost and inefficiency of using private consultants at the New York State Department of Transportation. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has also been supportive of PEF’s efforts to reduce the use of unnecessary consultants in state agencies. Follow up research done by the FPI showed that similarly wasteful contracts were undertaken for many different types of consultant work across all state agencies.

“The governor’s executive order is a major first step toward cutting a significant amount of waste in state spending,” Brynien added.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

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