As for his own thousand days, Auerbach obviously prefers to wax more about his duties than his accomplishments. Auerbach was by no means a bust during his first thousand, but his investigations into various departments seemed to create more heat than light, more rhetoric than reform.
One part of Auerbach’s introspection might cause him grief. He lists the areas the comptroller is not (his emphasis) responsible for. “The comptroller does not oversee county programs,” he wrote. With all due respect, I would submit oversight is exactly what the framers of the charter had in mind when they created this watchdog position. Otherwise, why have a $101,319-a-year comptroller with a $426,000-a-year staff?
In the final analysis, it is not for prime players in this first thousand days of charter government to pass judgment on themselves. The constitutionally chartered 11-member charter review commission should, after sober, objective reflection, do that.
Here, the comptroller offers helpful guidance. The commission, he writes, offers “an important opportunity to ensure the independence of the comptroller’s position is maintained, the role of [the] legislature clarified and the power of the executive checked.” (That last line may have people chewing carpets in the executive suite.)
Charter review launched
In fact, the process, which could last a year, has already begun. The charter review commission, with little fanfare, met for the first time a month ago, elected no-nonsense Cynthia Lowe its chairman and has met three times since. The commission meets on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. in legislative chambers. The recommendations of this advisory commission are subject to approval by elected officials.
The commission, dominated by the executive’s five choices and Democratic legislative appointments, reunites two frequent combatants from the former reapportionment commission — Democrat Lowe and Republican Mike Catalinotto from Saugerties.
Members of the commission include Michael Moriello, Tom Rocco and Fawn Tantillo from New Paltz, the aforementioned Lowe and Jay Kaplan from Hurley, the aforementioned Catalinotto from Saugerties, Tom Kadgen from Shokan, Joan Lawrence-Bauer from Big Indian, Rod Futerfas from Woodstock, Jim McGarry from Ruby and Leif Spencer from Wallkill.
