I have requested that the forum Administrator post a letter that I recently composed and mailed to the New York State Office of the State Comptroller - Office of Local Government and School Accountability that requests that an independent and comprehensive audit of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority be conducted.  There has been no audit of this organization by the State Comptroller's office since the its establishment in 1998.

There have been numerous stories published in the Daily Gazette that address development that is planned in the City of Schenectady. Most of the business development plans include financing, in the form of grants and no/low interest loans from the Metroplex Authority. We have also recently learned that the Metroplex converted a loan to a grant for a business (Parsons Child and Family Center) that has been unable to achieve sustained profitability.

While I make no accusations or claims of impropriety or illegal activities by those on the Metroplex Board of Directors and administrative staff, I believe that an independent and comprehensive audit of the Metroplex is needed to ensure the accountability of expenditures of public revenues and to provide transparency to the operations of the organization.

I have concerns about the continued redistribution of public revenues (i.e., taxes) to private businesses being performed by the Metroplex.  I believe that the focus of the Metroplex needs to be on financing the installation and maintenance of the infrastructure required to support business development and on establishing "shovel ready" sites.  Business owners seek a climate/environment with established infrastructure, low taxes and cost of operations, and a trained, educated and skilled workforce in which to establish or expand operations.

If you agree with my assertion that an independent and comprehensive audit of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority should be performed by the New York State Comptroller's Office, I encourage you to write letters (or cut, paste, and edit my letter as required) expressing your support for this cause.

The Administrator will also be posting the letter that I received from the New York State Comptroller's Office in response to my correspondence.  I have contacted many of the area media outlets (newspaper, radio, television, etc.) to share with them my call for the audit.  I am hopeful that the concerns of the Schenectady County taxpayers will be addressed by our state government.

197 Eaton Corners Road

Delanson, New York 12053

November 29, 2007

Mr. Ken Madej

Chief Examiner

Office of Local Government & School Accountability

New York State Office of the State Comptroller

22 Computer Drive West

Albany, New York 12205

Dear Mr. Madej:

I am writing to request that the Office of Local Government & School Accountability conduct a comprehensive audit of the finances of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority (hereafter “Metroplex”). As a taxpayer and resident of Schenectady County, l cite the need for an independent audit by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller of this organization to ensure the accountability of the expenditures of public revenues and to provide transparency to the operations of the Metroplex.

The creation of the Metroplex was prompted by the Schenectady 2000 Project, an effort that began in the early 1990s to revitalize Schenectady. The economic development agency uses a portion of the county sales tax receipts to promote private investment. The Metroplex Board of Directors is comprised of individuals who are appointed to represent the interests of the City of Schenectady and the surrounding towns in the county. According to the Metroplex website, the administrative staff consists of five paid employees.

It is my understanding that your office has not audited the Metroplex since its founding in 1998. The results of the Metroplex self-directed audits, conducted by independent certified public accountants with the firm Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co., LLP of Albany, for years 2003 and 2004 are posted on the organization’s web site ( http://www.schenectadymetroplex.org) under the “About Us” link. There are, however, no audit documents published for the years 2005 and 2006.

I have outlined in the attached document a list of questions pertaining to the Metroplex Development Authority’s operations that have been posed by many of my fellow Schenectady County residents. Several elected officials in the county government have stated that there is limited disclosure by the organization regarding the application process, the criteria for funding decisions, and the management of public revenues. I am uncertain as to which of these questions/concerns might be addressed in the audit performed by your office.

It is for the reasons cited above that I respectfully request that the Office of Local Government and School Accountability of the New York State Office of the State Comptroller conduct a comprehensive review and audit of the Metroplex Development Authority’s operations and finances and publish the results via mail, email or other means so that it may be available to Schenectady County residents for review at the earliest available time.

If you should require additional information pertaining to my inquiry, please contact me by telephone at (51xxx-xxxx or in writing to the above address.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bradley E. Littlefield



Questions to be addressed in an audit of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority:

What are the credentials of the company who performs the Metroplex self-directed audits? How was this firm selected?

Why are the results of the 2005 and 2006 annual self-directed audits not published to the Metroplex website? Are they available for inspection by the residents and taxpayers in Schenectady County?

Why do the operating expenses of the agency amount to ~15-20% of the annual tax revenues when the Board of

Directors positions are purported to be non-paid and the administrative staff consists of only five employees?

How much tax revenue is being realized from the businesses that are/have been financially supported by the grants and loans awarded by the Metroplex? (i.e., return on investment to the taxpayers)

How many full time and permanent jobs have been created by the businesses that have received financing from the Metroplex?

What percentage of the loans extended have been repaid? What is the percentage of loans that are in default?

What are the losses that have been realized?

What tax benefits are the residents of Schenectady County realizing from the spending decisions that have been made by the Metroplex for past/present/future projects?

What is the value of the collateral that has been pledged to secure the loans awarded and where/how are these collateral holdings being placed? Are the loans secured only by the Metroplex or does New York State retain some interest in the collateral holdings/assets. If there is financial collateral, is it in a particular bank or security, is it liquid and what rate of interest, if any, is it earning?

How much of future revenues have been allocated/awarded?

Describe the application process for requesting Metroplex funding and define the decision criteria.

List those applications that have been denied and provide the basis for denial.

How and by what criteria are contractors and construction firms selected? How does a company become eligible to compete for work - is there a formal process by which bids are solicited? (These questions are of interest because there appears to be an established relationship between the Metroplex and the Galesi Group.)

What is the amount of revenue that has been forfeited by the City of Schenectady and Schenectady County by extending tax incentives (e.g., tax “amnesty”) to businesses that are establishing operations with Metroplex financial support?

When is the projected return on investment expected to begin? When will these properties enter the tax rolls? What guarantees are in place in the event of default?

What is the policy regarding converting loans to grants for businesses that cannot achieve sustained profitability? Upon what criteria are these decisions based? For what period of time does the Metroplex commit to providing ongoing financial support?

Here is the respond from the NYS Comptroller:

Sorry to say, but this letter just seems to say...Yeah, we got your mail, whaddya want us to do about it?

BigK,

I agree with your assessment that the response to my correspondence is non-commital.  If others believe that this cause is worthy of their support, each will need to submit their request, by mail or phone, to the Mr. Madej, Chief Examiner.  His contact information is available in the letter posted above.

I agree...NON COMMITTAL!
We should all sign a petition-like letter and send it on!

Should the STATE audit metroplex?????? WOW!!! that's a paradox if I ever heard one.......

If anyone is interested in contacting Mr. Madej of the State Comptroller's Office - Office of Local Government & School Accountability,
the contact information, including an email address is provided below.


ALBANY REGIONAL OFFICE
Kenneth Madej, Chief Examiner
Office of the State Comptroller
22 Computer Drive West
Albany, New York 12205-1695
(518 ) 438-0093 | Fax (518 ) 438-0367
Email: Muni-Albany@osc.state.ny.us
Serving: Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Schenectady, Ulster counties

To date, the results of the poll asking if the New York State Office of the State Comptroller should perform an independent and comprehensive audit of the finances and operations of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority are:

Yes:  18  (94.7%)

Undecided:  1  (5.3%)

No:  0  (0%)

The above totals represents the sums of the votes made at both the schenectadyny.info and the rotterdamny.info web sites.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

After 10 years, it’s time for independent audit of Metroplex

    With the 10th anniversary of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority [Metroplex] in 2008, an independent and comprehensive audit of the Metroplex by the New York State Offi ce of the State Comptroller’s Office of Local Government and School Accountability is required to ensure the accountability of expenditures of public revenues and to provide transparency to the operations of the organization.
    The creation of the Metroplex was prompted by the Schenectady 2000 project, an effort that began in the early 1990s to revitalize Schenectady. The economic development agency uses a portion of the county sales tax receipts to promote private investment.
    The Daily Gazette has published many articles that address development planned for the city of Schenectady. Most of the plans include financing, in the form of grants and no or low-interest loans awarded by Metroplex.
    While I make no accusations or claims of impropriety by those on the Metroplex board of directors and administrative staff, there are many residents who share my questions and concerns about the application process, the criteria for funding decisions, the distribution of funds to the various municipalities of Schenectady County, and, most importantly, the return on the taxpayers’ investment of public revenues to finance private businesses.
    Though the results of self-directed annual audits of Metroplex and other information are available at the organization’s Web site (www.schenectadymetroplex.org), an independent and comprehensive audit by the New York State Comptroller’s Office will provide full and impartial disclosure of the organization’s operations to the taxpaying residents of Schenectady County.
    BRAD LITTLEFIELD
    Delanson

Brad, as the residents who are paying for all of the Metroplex's decisions they don't believe we have the right to question their decisions. After all they think that they have to think for us as we can't think for ourselves and they know what's best for us. Until the people who are paying for all these loans and handouts stand up and scream enough is enough it'll continue to be business as usual.

Quoted Text

Quoted from shadow:
Until the people who are paying for all these loans and handouts stand up and scream enough is enough it'll continue to be business as usual.

Shadow,

I agree with your assertion.  I have stood up by writing letters to the NYS Comptroller's office and to the Editor of the Daily Gazette.  I understand that
others have also written letters to the state Comptroller's office.  I would ask that if you and others agree with my position on this issue, that you stand with me.
Write a short Letter the Editor of the Daily Gazette referencing my letter (published today) and stating your position.

Brad, excellent article. And thanks for speaking for us.
I will be anxiously awaiting a respond from Mr. Gillen or
others in the Metroplex Authority.

Quoted Text

Quoted from JoAnn:
... I will be anxiously awaiting a respond from Mr. Gillen or others in the Metroplex Authority.

I fully expect there to be a response from Gillen that states that there is no need for the requested audit and
that anyone who has questions/concerns can contact him.  This response will, of course, not satisfy my request for an independent, impartial, and comprehensive review of the organizations finances and operations.

It's been obvious for quite some time now that the County Council and Metroplex really doesn't want us to know what they're doing and how they're spending the residents/taxpayers money.