New York’s local governments are falling behind in “meeting their responsibilities to adequately maintain and improve” their physical infrastructure, says a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.
However, as the report points out, the problem isn’t just a lack of money. For example, in the road and bridge area, construction-related costs are rising in part because of the state’s own longtime insistence on pegging wages paid by all contractors to the supposedly “prevailing” union rate in each region. The money graf from the comptroller’s report (p. 10):
Prevailing Wage Rates – Under New York State Labor Law, contractors and subcontractors must pay the prevailing rate of wage and supplements (fringe benefits) to all workers under a public work contract. Increases in prevailing wage rates impact local governments’ construction costs, as the increases in costs do not necessarily correlate with increases in available funding. Upgrades to waste water and water treatment plants as well as general construction and large paving projects are particularly affected.38 For example, prevailing wage rates in Albany County for Carpenters – Heavy Highway, Electricians, and Plumbers increased 33, 36 and 40 percent, respectively, over an eight year period from 2005 through 2013.
So, even DiNapoli-—a politician warmly embraced by labor unions—is willing to at least implicitly recognize the obvious: local governments could stretch their dollars further if they weren’t stuck with the prevailing wage mandate in its present form.
New York is not unique in having a prevailing law; the federal government still enforces the Depression-era Davis-Bacon Act, after all. However, New York is unique in basing the prevailing wage rate for every trade on union contracts.
Under state law, the prevailing wage for any given trade is based on a union contract that covers at least 30 percent of the workers in the designated trade and locality. The statewide unionization rate is just 24 percent. While that threshold is met in the metropolitan New York area, “it is surely going unmet in many cases” upstate, according to “The Complex Worlds of New York’s Prevailing Wage,” a 2012 report from the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University.
Bottom line: meeting the infrastructure challenge isn’t simply a matter of spending more, but of spending more intelligently.
You may also like
Sponsors of a $10 Fee for Prescriptions Narrow Their Proposal
UPDATE: The bill discussed in this post passed the Senate at around 3:30 a.m. Friday by a vote of 57-2.
Legislation that would mandate a $10 "dispensing fee" for filling pr Read More
Even With Federal Cuts, New York’s Health Funding Would Remain High
New York's health-care industry stands to lose billions of dollars in federal funding under the major budget bill being debated in Washington – a rare and jarring turn of events for a sector accustomed to steadily increas Read More
As Albany’s Session Ends, Watch for Rising Health Costs
Every session of the state Legislature brings a fresh crop of proposals that would drive up health-care costs, and 2025 is no exception.
Here is a sampling of pending bills that, if Read More
Empire Center Launches K-12 SOS on Education Achievement and Spending in New York
In 2022-23 New York used to spend more than any other state or country – $30,000 per student. Next school year the spending might increase to $35,000 per student.
Even at $30,000 New York spends twice as much as the US average, and about a third more Read More
House Budget Would Burst New York’s Essential Plan Bubble
The extraordinary cash bonanza associated with New York's Essential Plan – which has generated billions more than state officials were able to spend – would come to a crashing end under the budget bill advancing in Cong Read More
The House GOP’s Shrinking Budget Plan Could Still Cost New York Billions
The likely impact of federal health-care cutbacks has diminished in recent days as House Republican leaders backed away from some of their bigger-ticket proposals, reducing the estimated savings to $625 billion from previous figures of $715 billion and $8 Read More
Feds Move To Close Medicaid’s ‘MCO Tax’ Loophole, Spelling Trouble for New York
New York's budget has sprung its first major leak just five days after being finalized by Governor Hochul and the Legislature.
On Tuesday, federal officials announced a that would Read More
Highlights of Albany’s Bloated and Belated Budget
The state Legislature approved the last of nine budget bills Thursday evening, 38 days after the start of the fiscal year. Here are some highlights of the fiscal impact of final spending plan:
Top lines
Read More