Everybody's Column
04/29/09 07:01 AM

Just because Chris Collins is doing a good job as county executive, it does not necessarily follow that Mark Poloncarz is doing a bad job as county comptroller. Collins’ vitriolic comments in an April 14 News article are designed to convince the public that there’s something wrong with a comptroller who won’t spend money foolishly.

The county executive asserts that the comptroller’s actions “stop his program of reforms,” and he is proud to announce that he has unlimited funds and will use them to unseat Poloncarz and others. I would hope that in these lean economic times, Collins’ “program of reforms” would not require further expenditures but would instead feature a diminution of them.

Indeed, Poloncarz’s record justifies his firm stance against spending frivolities. In fact, in January his office for the third time received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. In addition, under his guidance the county received upgrades to its credit rating, reaching almost to an “A” score.

I don’t know about Collins, but I certainly sleep better knowing that our fiscal watchdog is prowling the junkyard.

Tracey Palmer

Buffalo