Statement by Peter VanAvery, Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee, at HRBRRD Board Meeting, Johnstown, NY, on December 13, 2004

"The Board of Directors of the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District should act as the first line of defense, ensuring that the District operates appropriately and effectively, and provides careful financial oversight of public monies." That's the gospel according to New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

Translated, it means that the Board should make certain that the District is a lean, efficient, cost-effective, productive, and ethically operated organization. But when the Comptroller's auditors took a hard look at the District's accounting, budgeting, and governance, they found otherwise. Concluded the Comptroller: "This Board has fallen short in its duties."

You will find the full text of the audit posted on the Comptroller's website and on ours as well: www.nybbac.org. At past Board meetings, the Executive Director told us that the audit's text also would be posted on the District's website -- but that has not been done. So let me revisit some highlights. Please note that the following comments do not apply to Director Beyor, who joined the Board only last month.

  • This Board authorized the hiring of a Secretary/Treasurer and Legal Counsel who were paid full-time salaries while actually working part-time. The former received $62,000 annually for a four-hour work week, or $300 an hour. The latter received $75,000 annually but worked only 18 hours a week on average. They also received full medical, dental, and vision benefits. Those two individuals departed from the District in June. If you want some depressing reading, just note the following sentence from the District's minutes of its June 15 Board meeting: "The Board at this time thanked both...for all their hard work and dedication to the District." Folks, all organizations -- including yours -- has employees on its payroll who give you 110%. Don't you realize how morale-killing this information is?

  • The law states that Board members should serve without salary or compensation, but are entitled to payment of all necessary expenses --such as travel costs -- incurred in the performance of their duties. But current Board members also were offered full health care, vision, and dental benefits for themselves and their family at the District's expense. In addition, such benefits were continued after a Board member left if he or she had served for more than four years. Didn't your high-priced lawyer ever read Title 15 and advise you that such actions were illegal?

    The Executive Director has told the media that corrective action was under way before the Comptroller's auditors showed up in March. He took over his position in mid-January. But the Secretary/Treasurer and Legal Counsel remained in their positions until June, earning approximately an additional $26,000 and $31,000, respectively. And if those two individuals were doing such a great job part-time -- as the Board would have us believe --why was it necessary to hire full-time replacements at roughly the same salaries?

    To add insult to injury, the District reported full-time service credits on these part-time employees to the New York State Retirement System. The Comptroller has reported this to his legal and investigations departments for review and recommendations. We will track this closely.

    Where does one go from here? The answer seems obvious to me. The District is a public benefit corporation with an annual budget approaching $7 million and a lot of problems. Service on its Board should be a heavy and time-consuming responsibility.

    A Director's task is -- big surprise! -- to direct. Their job is not to rubber-stamp every proposal laid before them by their employee, the Executive Director. He reports to them -- not the other way around. Their job is to challenge him. Can he prove the need for whatever he wants to accomplish? Can he demonstrate that he has found the best solution? By applying their own special insights and knowledge, they should surface problems that he may have overlooked. In the process, voices may be raised. That's OK. This is the kind of creative tension that builds a strong organization.

    Unfortunately, this is not the way the current four Board members have operated, and they must bear accountability for this mess spotlighted by the Comptroller's audit. I have written Governor Pataki and urged him to install a new slate of qualified Directors who will bring fresh new ideas to this assignment and enthusiastically help to steer the District toward the goals so important to all stakeholders. This organization has been dysfunctional for decades. It must stop here.

    Thank you.