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Simultaneous, Political Appointments and the Ethical Culture of an Authority
Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Robert Wechsler
The Delaware River Port Authority
(DRPA) has been getting a lot of heat lately. The bi-state organization
operates four toll bridges and a commuter system between
Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.
According to an article in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pennsylvania treasurer, who is an ex-officio member of DRPA's board, "recommended major changes to the rules of DRPA to end conflicts of interest and to temporarily halt spending on law firms and other professional services."
The state treasurer is concerned with the "real or perceived conflicts of interest of board members; the authority's employment practices, specifically the exorbitant executive-level pay, car allowances and perks; the awarding of grants and contracts; and a general sense that the authority is a political patronage operation unconcerned with the rising toll charges levied on the public to pay for all this political largesse."
The political largesse involves a number of economic development grants, for such things as sports stadiums, museums, and a memorial near Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The origin of this largesse is clear from another Inquirer article this week.
The mayor of Pennsuaken, NJ is a member of the DRPA board (although he's listed on the board's webpage only as a school administrator, which he also is). Although he opposes spending DRPA money on anything but transportation, DRPA just gave his township $700,000 to build a football complex. "I'm not going to say no if it's going to be for the betterment of my town. I certainly wouldn't turn my back on that," he told the newspaper. In fact, the money came from a loan fund, but the board agreed (with the mayor abstaining) to take all the money left in the fund and give it out in the form of grants. Why? Because under pressure, the board had agreed not to spend any more on economic development. Of course, it could have left the money in the fund for future transportation needs, but that football complex needed to be built, and there's an election in Pennsauken this year.
The DRPA board does not consist solely of politicians, but its members are all appointed by the two states' governors, and there's undoubtedly a lot of pressure from Philadelphia and southern New Jersey politicians to appoint individuals sympathetic to their needs.
But there's another problem. It stares out at you from the DRPA board's webpage. Of 13 full members, 8 of them were appointed in 2009, with one more each in 2010 and 2008. In other words, the board turns over practically all at once. This gives a lot of power to the authority's management, because few of its overseers have sufficient experience with the authority to provide adequate oversight, even if they were not sympathetic to the needs of local politicians.
Every oversight board should have staggered appointments, in order to prevent turnovers such as this. Not only does it help the board do its job better, but it also prevents the current governors -- the ones who have most to gain from political decisions -- from selecting most of the board.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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According to an article in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pennsylvania treasurer, who is an ex-officio member of DRPA's board, "recommended major changes to the rules of DRPA to end conflicts of interest and to temporarily halt spending on law firms and other professional services."
The state treasurer is concerned with the "real or perceived conflicts of interest of board members; the authority's employment practices, specifically the exorbitant executive-level pay, car allowances and perks; the awarding of grants and contracts; and a general sense that the authority is a political patronage operation unconcerned with the rising toll charges levied on the public to pay for all this political largesse."
The political largesse involves a number of economic development grants, for such things as sports stadiums, museums, and a memorial near Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The origin of this largesse is clear from another Inquirer article this week.
The mayor of Pennsuaken, NJ is a member of the DRPA board (although he's listed on the board's webpage only as a school administrator, which he also is). Although he opposes spending DRPA money on anything but transportation, DRPA just gave his township $700,000 to build a football complex. "I'm not going to say no if it's going to be for the betterment of my town. I certainly wouldn't turn my back on that," he told the newspaper. In fact, the money came from a loan fund, but the board agreed (with the mayor abstaining) to take all the money left in the fund and give it out in the form of grants. Why? Because under pressure, the board had agreed not to spend any more on economic development. Of course, it could have left the money in the fund for future transportation needs, but that football complex needed to be built, and there's an election in Pennsauken this year.
The DRPA board does not consist solely of politicians, but its members are all appointed by the two states' governors, and there's undoubtedly a lot of pressure from Philadelphia and southern New Jersey politicians to appoint individuals sympathetic to their needs.
But there's another problem. It stares out at you from the DRPA board's webpage. Of 13 full members, 8 of them were appointed in 2009, with one more each in 2010 and 2008. In other words, the board turns over practically all at once. This gives a lot of power to the authority's management, because few of its overseers have sufficient experience with the authority to provide adequate oversight, even if they were not sympathetic to the needs of local politicians.
Every oversight board should have staggered appointments, in order to prevent turnovers such as this. Not only does it help the board do its job better, but it also prevents the current governors -- the ones who have most to gain from political decisions -- from selecting most of the board.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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