By Dave Lucas
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Albany, NY – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a task force to investigate salaries and other compensation at nonprofit agencies where he says about 2-thousand workers are paid more than 100-thousand dollars a year. Capital District Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
The governor's action came a day after the New York Times reported high salaries at two nonprofits receiving medicaid funding for the developmentally disabled. An article stated that two men each received nearly a million dollars a year and billed their group for college tuition at private schools for their children.
Cuomo says there currently are no rules governing executive and administrative compensation at nonprofit groups. Doug Sauer, CEO of the New York Council of Non-Profits says the situation should not be perceived as "out of control". The task force will be led by state Inspector General Ellen Biben and focus on organizations that receive state funding.
Cuomo's task force announcement follows one made 5 weeks ago by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman regarding his "Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization." That task force, composed of 29 leaders in the nonprofit sector from across New York State, is charged with presenting a series of recommendations to the AG to reduce the regulatory burdens and costs on nonprofits while strengthening nonprofit accountability. The initiative includes proposing measures to enhance board governance and effectiveness, including through new programs to recruit and train nonprofit board members.
The Governor stresses the task force has been charged with ensuring that taxpayer dollars are not going towards extravagant compensation of not-for profit executives. Cuomo said a 2010 preliminary analysis by the state found that nearly 2,000 employees had salaries averaging just under $169,000 a year.