Gov. Cuomo yesterday nominated Patrick Foye, the former co-chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., to take over as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. I’ve known Pat since high school; here are some of the things I’ll be warning him about on the basis of my own years as the PA’s executive director.
Watch the New Jersey crowd. Time and again, Jersey bureaucrats have taken advantage of sleeping New York commissioners and governors to pick the PA’s pocket. In Jersey, the Port is the big deal; on our side of the Hudson, it’s but one of many large agencies. New York can no longer afford to let Jersey functionaries exploit our lack of focus.
Don’t accept PA bureaucrats’ cost estimates or construction timetables on new projects. They always paint an optimistic picture to get approval, knowing that once construction starts it’s almost impossible to stop. They’re certain that cost overruns will be tolerated because the PA board is loath to abandon uncompleted projects.
The PATH terminal at Ground Zero known as the “Transportation Hub” is a perfect example of PA staff conniving. This is a work of art masquerading as a subway station, catering to a mere 50,000 New Jersey commuters; the cost has jumped from the original $1 billion to $3.4 billion. In other words, it’s going to cost more than the new World Trade Center.
That’s preposterous — yet the PA staff has gotten away with it.
When you hear the word “art,” hold on to the PA’s wallet. Agency elites believe they’re uniquely qualified to define the public’s aesthetic values — and will spend untold millions of toll payers’ hard-earned dollars to impose their tastes.
Don’t believe PA claims that the employee headcount is the lowest since the 1940s. This is a ploy, to pretend the agency has leaned down; in fact, the fat is just disguised by a vast rise in call-in agreements for temporary staffing and professional, technical and advisory services.
A state comptroller’s analysis revealed that the PA lacks documentation to justify the need for new or renewed contracts to the tune of $1.18 billion. There should be an investigation to uncover how many ex-PA employees are now working for these consulting firms and how many are collecting PA pensions.
Overtime’s also shot up. From 2006 to 2010, $459 million was paid in overtime to over 5,000 of the PA’s 7,000 employees. More than two dozen employees had overtime earnings greater than base salary. In a blistering report released in August, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli concluded that PA management was “asleep at the wheel” because “overtime flows like water at the Port Authority and management has no clear strategy to achieve its own benchmarks and goals for curbing costs.”
As a result of these OT costs, PA employees account for 23 percent of the state’s top 300 public-pension earners, with lifetime guaranteed yearly income ranging from $125,000 to $196,000.
Don’t believe the claims of long-time PA bureaucrats that they are above political infighting and are managerial scientists employing proven formulas to enhance the region’s transportation infrastructure. PA employees are political animals who view the executive director and the governors they serve as meddling interlopers, and will fight to the death to protect their power, perks and pensions.
Most PA bureaucrats actually prefer the murky agency mazes, because the labyrinths of rules and regulations conceal their waste and inefficiency and shield them from public scrutiny. Never forget that these arrogant bureaucrats believe they are not accountable to the people or elected officials.
Because the average tenure of executive directors since 1995 has been about 2 1/2 years, you must hit the ground running. Hold frequent staff meetings and ask plenty of questions. If you don’t ask, staff won’t even tell you your pants are on fire.
Finally, seriously consider breaking up the beast. The PA could be divided between the two states with only the ports, bridges and tunnels retained as bi-state assets in a dramatically shrunken PA. There is, for instance, no synergy in having five airports in two states in one agency.
To succeed, resist temptations to go native and become captive of PA potentates, and never forget that your first duty is to serve and protect the interests of the millions of toll payers in the New York-New Jersey region.
Good luck, Pat.