Consider the propositions
Voters will confront ballot choices on state, county and local proposals
The problem with the propositions on New York State ballots — Erie County voters will be asked to rule on at least three of them Tuesday — is that they are mostly unfamiliar, often unreadable and even the best of them can fall victim to a reflexive "hell, no" vote if the electorate doesn't know what it's being asked to approve.
Such a knee-jerk rejection would be highly unfortunate in the case of the two statewide questions to be voted up or down on Tuesday. Both are worthy of the voters' assent.
When it comes to Erie County Proposition No. 1, however, voters should indulge their fear of the unknown and vote no.
They should do so even though the measure to be approved has been, cynically, given the title of "The Tax Payer Protection Law." Aside from being misspelled ("taxpayer" is one word), the proposal is seriously misnamed. It would be better titled "The Get The County Sued Law."
Under current law, the Erie County executive can sign contracts costing under $10,000 without the approval of the Legislature. The proposition would change that law, allowing the Legislature to review all such spending agreements regardless of amount and, at its option, cancel them, even after they've been executed and even after work has begun.
The fear that county executives might use their current authority to give taxpayers' money to their friends, business associates and campaign contributors is always present, and by no means groundless. In 2007, then-County Executive Joel A. Giambra hired his retired budget director as a consultant for $1,000 a month. This year, a business partly owned by current Executive Chris Collins got a $90,000 deal with the county — a deal that was canceled, rebid and awarded to someone else when objections were raised.
The problem with the proposal before the voters is not that the Legislature would gain more supervision over county spending. It is that it would allow it the power to cancel contracts after they have been signed by both parties.
Such an arrangement would not only discourage businesses from seeking county business … which could mean higher costs due to less competition — it would also expose the county to significant legal liability if any winning bidder was deprived of a contract through no fault of his or her own. The damage would be particularly grievous, and legally questionable, if that bidder had spent any money that would be lost once the contract was voided.
The argument from the proposition's backers, that it would take politics out of the bid process, is bogus. Giving legislators the power to cancel contracts gives them the same power to reward friends and to punish enemies whom they say they are worried about in the hands of the executive.
As to the other questions on the ballot: There are two statewide proposals, and some individual towns, cities and villages will add their own local measures.
Our recommendations on the statewide issues:
- State Proposal No. 1: Vote yes
This is another example of how the state constitution requires a vote of the people … after approval by two sessions of the New York Legislature — for even the tiniest alteration of state-owned land in the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
Specifically, voters are being asked to sign off on a plan that would allow National Grid to run two miles of power line along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County, in a forest area where such construction would otherwise be banned, in exchange for the power company donating 10 acres of forest to the preserve.
In other words, let the power lines follow an existing road rather than make the utility company, which is responding to a plea from a community that routinely loses power when other lines are brought down by winter, cut a swath through untouched forest and fragment the ecosystem just for the sake of following the letter of the law.
There's no opposition to this. Environmentalists, park advocacy groups, local communities and governments, the New York Power Authority and the utility all see it as the best and most logical thing to do. It is a gain for the community and for the state, and deserves to be approved.
- State Proposal No. 2: Vote yes
The state constitution now bans the state from allowing its prison inmates to work for anyone other than the state or a local government. It's a good provision intended to prevent the China-like drafting of prison labor for private profit.
This ballot question would empower the Legislature to pass a law that would allow prison inmates to work for non-profit organizations, something that is done in other states and serves such worthy goals as training guide dogs. Such a law would have to have safeguards to make sure the inmates are properly screened, that the organizations involved really are non-profit and that the state was not exposing itself to liability for harm either to the inmates or to the public. But it is a good idea and worthy of approval.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments