Comptroller urges stricter ethics laws
Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach has issued a report calling on the county to strengthen it ethics laws, saying the current law fails to protect against pay-to-play politics and campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime.
In the report, called “Ethically Ulster” and released earlier this week, Auerbach recommends the county embrace the policies of three other counties to limit the annual number, not just the amount, of “gifts” elected officials can receive from a single individual; prohibit elected officials from appearing in public service announcements or other advertisements paid for with taxpayer money; and limit the amount of money a vendor with the county can donate to a campaign.
Ulster County Legislature Chairman Ken Ronk said Friday he hadn’t seen the report but questioned whether the comptroller should be delving into issues outside of the jurisdiction.
“We have an Ethics Board in the county, we have an ethics law in the county. I don’t see where the role of the comptroller is to wade into that arena,” said Ronk, RWallkill.
“I think that there’s a lot of audits to be done,” Ronk said. “I would think the role of the comptroller would be to do some performance audits and financial audits to see if we’re getting our money’s worth from some of the vendors. I think that would be a better use of time.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s the role of the comptroller to be saying whether or not the county executive should have his name or picture on x,y, or z,” he said.
Auerbach, though, defended his office’s work, saying of Ronk “evidently... doesn’t quite grasp what our charge is.” Auerbach said the county charter gives the Comptroller’s Office broad latitude to delve into all issues within the county, not just county government. The county charter states the comptroller is the “chief auditing officer of the county.”
“I’m not the Ulster County government building comptroller, I am the Ulster County comptroller,” Auerbach said. “Our charge is a simple one: to ensure that every dime and every dollar is being spent wisely, that there is an effective government that results in prudent spending, that there is a government operation that is economical, efficient and effective.”