TIMES UNION
Albany, NY
April 21, 2005

River district official resigns
Henry Hess says board that regulates dams is "impotent" to solve problems cited in audit

By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer

ALBANY -- The man responsible for finances at the beleaguered Hudson River Black River Regulating District quit after less than a year on the job, saying its board is "impotent" to cure problems because decisions actually come from Gov. George Pataki's office.

Henry Hess, 60, said Wednesday that he was frustrated at times by the district, which last fall was criticized by a state comptroller's audit for years of mismanagement and inappropriate spending.

The board, appointed by the governor's office, controls a network of dams and reservoirs built to prevent flooding of downriver communities -- Albany, Troy and Rensselaer among them. Hess, who was named to the board in July after financial problems began surfacing, resigned this month.

Among Comptroller Alan Hevesi's audit findings in November was that some expenses -- like a $21,000 vehicle -- went undocumented.

He also found that former Secretary-Treasurer George Scaringe was paid nearly $62,000, plus benefits, annually for an average of four hours worked a week. The report also found that former counsel Timothy Foley was paid $75,000 for working an average of 18 hours a week. Both men also received credit for full-time jobs with the state retirement system.

Hess said his efforts to reform pay and retirement benefits at the authority stalled. "We were working with the Civil Service Department on salary and retirement benefits that were so skewed, so inflated," he said. "All of a sudden, the will wasn't there to do that."

Hess, the former comptroller for the town of Queensbury, said the board ignored the issue. "The board is impotent. And the communication by management is not with the board. Every day, sometimes three times a day, the call is to the governor's office about what should be done about this, what should be done about that."

Pataki spokeswoman Jennifer Meicht said, "The governor is very pleased with the progress at the authority made by the board of directors and Executive Director Richard Lefebvre. He has every confidence in their ability."

Efforts to reach Lefebvre, board Chairwoman Anne B. McDonald, and members James D. Jankowski and Pamela Beyor were not successful. The other two board positions are currently vacant.

Lamenting Hess' departure was a group that represents the nearly 4,600 private property owners that have access permits for Great Sacandaga Lake, which was created partly to help with Hudson River flood control.

"I was very sorry to see Henry Hess resign ... after only nine months in this position," said Peter Van Avery, co-founder of the Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee. His group fended off an effort by the district last year to raise permit fees.

"It is a disgrace that this highly qualified professional, an individual of obvious integrity, felt the need to stand on principle and submit his resignation rather than continue working at this organization. While the district claims to have instituted reforms, Mr. Hess' untimely departure tells us otherwise."

DAILY GAZETTE
Schenectady, NY
April 20, 2005

River District financial manager resigns

BY JOE MAHER, Gazette Reporter

Henry Hess, who managed the finances of the Hudson River Black River Regulating District for less than a year, has resigned.

Hess, 60, made a career out of business management. He worked for the town of Queensbury as comptroller for many years and as a school district business manager before that.

He would not specify exactly why he resigned from the agency.

"I was compelled (but) not by the district. I left for my own reasons, strictly voluntarily, it was a matter of principal," he said last week. He said he wouldn't publicly talk about the exact reason.

But he did offer his views on district operations, saying the agency, which regulates the Great Sacandaga Lake as a flood-control reservoir, is being run by "operatives in the executive branch."

He said the board began to lose control when the regulating district attempted to raise lake access permit fees a couple of years ago.

"The fact is it took a year to appoint a fifth board member when one left. Now they’re running a five-man board with three people and everything has to be unanimous. But it doesn't really matter because decisions are not being made at the board level anyway," Hess said.

"I think at some point the district has to get back and focus on its mission and the board has to take its organization back," he said.

Hess said he wanted to emphasize "that's not the reason I left. I was there to help and I think I did that for a while."

Peter Van Avery, co-founder of the Batchellerville Bridge Action Committee, said his members were very sorry to see Hess resign.

"Our take on him was that he was one of the good guys and a real asset to this independent state authority with a long history of mismanagement and scandal," Van Avery said.

"It is a disgrace that this highly qualified professional, an individual of obvious integrity, felt the need to stand on principle and submit his resignation rather than continue working at this organization. While the district claims to have instituted reforms, Mr. Hess' dramatic departure tells us otherwise," he added.

Regulating District Executive Director Richard L. Lefebvre said he didn't want to go into detail about the resignation.

He noted that in his resignation letter Hess wished the district board well, and the board also wished him well in accepting the resignation.

"Mr. Hess has expressed the want to leave the district for personal reasons and possibly retirement," Lefebvre said. "I'm respectful of that and appreciate what he did under his tenure."