Former Assembly Minority Leader and gubernatorial candidate John

Long Island Business News, Jun 3, 2009 by David Reich-Hale

Former Assembly Minority Leader and gubernatorial candidate John Faso commended Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's government consolidation pitch, but said that the law won't do enough to get the state out of its economic mess.

Faso, who is mentioned as a possible replacement for Joe Mondello as Republican state chairman if Mondello ever actually goes away, and may make another run for statewide office, offered up six ways the state would quickly save money.

Courtesy of the Times Union, which published Faso's op-ed:

it would adopt Tier V pension reform and eliminate the ability of workers to pad pensions with overtime;

it would reform the "Triborough" law which says that all terms and conditions of existing contracts continue upon expiration, leaving little bargaining power to local governments in dealing with union benefits and work rules which no longer are affordable;

it would repeal the "Wicks" law which adds to government construction costs by 20 percent to 30 percent with no benefit to taxpayers;

it would allow for easy consolidation of administrative functions at the school district level (this is where the money is; not in village and town government operations);

it would enact a school property tax cap that is real, like that in Massachusetts;

it would stop passing more pension sweeteners and giveaways which make New York more expensive.