Authority Czar Tapped

New York Gov. David Paterson last week appointed David Kidera as acting director of the Independent Authorities Budget Office, which was created by the Public Authorities Act of 2009.

The role isn’t a big change for Kidera who had been director of the Authorities Budget Office — which the IABO replaced — since its creation in 2006. He had previously served in the state Division of Budget and was involved in the negotiations that led to the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005.

The new law grants subpoena power to the IABO and requires that board members have an explicit fiduciary duty to the authority rather than to the officials who appointed them. It also requires that most contracts greater than $1 million be reviewed by the state comptroller’s office.

“At a time when the public is demanding real change, this is a reform that will benefit all New Yorkers and help them deal with the problems of daily life,” said the law’s sponsor, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Westchester.

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