GOSHEN – A monitor to oversee the Orange County Industrial Development Agency must be appointed by next month, but while the IDA and county government officials opposed the appointment, IDA Executive Director Bill Fioravanti is “encouraged” as the process moves forward.
State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) sponsored the legislation to have a state-appointed watchdog.
Fioravanti and other IDA officials met with the State Inspector General’s Office,
“Although I think the law that this bill was politically motivated without question, I don’t think the appointment is going to be politically motivated,” he told Mid-Hudson News. “I think the IG is going to do just what they are supposed to do; they are independent. They are going to make sure that this is enacted and that we have someone that comes in and makes sure that we are doing everything properly, which frankly, we encourage.”
Fioravanti said the IDA has been “completely transparent” since the new administration took over two years ago.
The law says the monitor will oversee the decisions of the IDA for three years. The IDA provides financial incentives for projects in the county.
The law applies only to the Orange County IDA and no others in the state.which will select the monitor, and he came away with a positive outlook.
Source: Mid-HudsonNews
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