New York State Comptroller says money is running out for local infrastructure

8/10/2009

By Matt Granato

NYS Comptroller Visits Syracuse

Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli visited downtown syracuse this morning. The visit highlighted a report DiNapoli released that said the State is running out of money to fund local infrastructure projects. DiNapoli projected an $80 billion gap over the next 20 years if something is not done to change the course New York is on.

Failed Infrastructure

The report acknowledges that New York has many old cities, and many of them are in dire need of an update to their roads, bridges, and water systems. Syracuse city water system was specifically mentioned as a priority in the report. DiNapoli pointed out that millions of gallons of water are lost each day in cracks and leaks in the city water system. The report also points out that besides the wasted water costing the city money, patching and fixing a broken system over and over again is costing far too much money. Some of the other priority projects mentioned include:


-The City of Buffalo water system
-Village of Springville sinkhole repairs
-Oneida County Sewer District
-Town of Vestal water system
-Broome County bridges rated structurally deficient
-37% of all NYS highway bridges rated structurally deficient or functionally obselete

Funding

DiNapoli says the state will be receiving $1.8 billion dollars now from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but that will not begin to cover New Yorks cost from the projects that need attention.

The Plan

The report did not just identify the budget gap, but also outlined strategies to make the impact less severe. DiNapoli says part of the underfunding that has taken place stems from a slowdown in state and federal investment in infrastructure. DiNapoli suggests more efforts in capital planning at the local level. He also says municipalities close to one another should find ways to work together on projects to keep costs down. DiNapoli says that he hopes the report will encourage local government to take this issue seriously, and begin thinking in new ways to take on this problem.