The New York state comptroller's office has targeted state and local public authorities, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, over financial issues and lack of transparency. State and local governments have come to rely on these authorities to plug budget gaps, but the public inevitably will be forced to pay higher taxes and tolls, according to Thomas DiNapoli, comptroller, who issued two critical reports released in early March.
The state's 1,169 public authorities—which also include the Dormitory Authority, the Empire State Development Corp. and the New York State Thruway Authority—have amassed nearly $250 billion in debt in the latest reported fiscal year, DiNapoli said in a March 5 report. These authorities "operate in the shadows with too little accountability to the public," DiNapoli said.