T-U's Editorial on Audit Needed More Research

Here's a rather odd editorial from the Times-Union (no byline):

The category is: Bad government

Like the popular game "Jeopardy,'' a state audit of the city of Rensselaer's finances gives a bunch of answers. The trick is to guess the questions.
...
This relatively young community was founded in 1897 after breaking away from Albany. It's small by city standards, with just 7,500 people. But it spends like a bigger city. It has a $10.5 million budget that translates to $345 for every resident, the 8th highest per capita government tab among cities in the state, and the highest rate in the Capital Region. The next closest is 20th-ranked Saratoga Springs at $233, followed by Albany, in 23rd place, at $225.

I've never seen any evidence of Rensselaer "breaking away from Albany" (see Albany maps from 1770 and 1790's). Rensselaer was created by merging Greenbush and Bath-on-the-Hudson (1893 map). The northern part of Greenbush, (town boundaries defined in 1801), was commonly referred to as East Albany, but was not related by government.

I was more concerned that they didn't bother to give attribution for these government spending figures. Here's where you can go to see them yourself: See Through New York - Benchmarking New York. There are many other interesting numbers to compare (some of which certainly need improvement, both in Albany and Rensselaer). The "government tab" mentioned in the editorial is defined in See Through New York as:

"General Government Per Capita - Total amount of expenditures for services provided by the governmental entity for the benefit of the public or governmental body as a whole divided by population. This subcategory may include the following subcategories: administration, zoning and planning, operations, judgments, county distribution of sales tax, and miscellaneous general government."

The editorial does provide an indirect link for the audit (via Tinyurl). I don't like this practice (except perhaps in Twitter), as it disguises the actual address of the destination page (you can always right-click my links and check their Properties before following). Here's a direct link to the City of Rensselaer audit (it's a 23-page PDF file).

St. John's All Class Reunion

Announcement from the Rensselaer, New York Facebook group, and the St. John's Academy Rensselaer NY Facebook group:

St. John's All Class Reunion

Spring has sprung! And with that came the spontaneous idea for a reunion of anyone who attended St. John’s Academy in Rensselaer. The idea has sprouted! We will meet on Friday, May 8, at 6:00 p.m., for an Italian buffet at Rudy’s V&R restaurant, 483 Broadway, Rensselaer, with St. John’s steeple in view. Plans include an after-dinner walk to our alma mater. Spouses and friends are cordially invited. Cost is just $20 per person, with cash bar. Reservations can be made and paid for in advance by contacting Kathy Nardacci, class of ’68 [full contact information in the Facebook posting]. Please spread the word! We hope to see as many of you as possible, and hope this will spur more gatherings in the future.

Audit Faults Rensselaer Finances

Troy Record: Comptroller critical of Rensselaer - again

A state audit has faulted the city’s management of its funds, the second report in four years to do so.

Released last week and spanning from August 2006 until July 2008, the report from the state comptroller’s office takes aim at the city treasurer for lax control over the city’s 49 bank accounts, as well as the Common Council that is tasked with overseeing the treasurer’s office.

Treasurer Susan Lupian, auditors wrote, “did not maintain custody of cash or even have a comprehensive list of all city-owned bank accounts and was unable to produce such a list upon our request.”

Times-Union: State auditors again critical of Rensselaer finances

All three audits noted the problems put city assets at risk because the disorganization and lack of monitoring make irregularities such as fraud hard to detect.

None of the audits, however, found evidence of missing funds, fraud or other wrongdoing.

Bird(s) on a Box

I've never caught the Rensselaer falcons in the process of changing places, but seeing each parent sitting in the same position really highlights the difference in their sizes.

Wikipedia says that females are larger than males, so Mama Falcon is probably the one on the top left, with the more pronounced markings on her wings. Her tail reaches almost to the outer ring scraped in the gravel.

Papa Falcon is below, with shorter wings and a tail that reaches nearly half way to the outer ring. He is a more uniform color.

If still images of a bird on a box are a little too boring, check out "2009 Utica Peregrine Falcons part 1" on YouTube (the Utica Peregrines have their own videographer).