Content area
Full Text
Charles Gargano, incoming state commissioner of economic development, plans to consolidate the state's economic development agencies, reduce staffing by 20% and strengthen the agencies' regional offices around the state.
"Our approach is going to be," says Mr. Gargano, "to look at any meaningful project that will create jobs, where we can use our money as leverage for larger projects and, hopefully, stimulate the economy in those areas."
The former Long Island construction executive, who raised more than $13 million as Gov. George Pataki's chief fund-raiser in the campaign, says his primary goal is to combine the state's economic development efforts under one agency, to be called the Empire State Economic Development Corp.
This will be the umbrella for the Department of Economic Development and the three other agencies under his control: the Urban Development Corp., the Job Development Authority and the Science and Technology Foundation.
"The UDC is supposed to support economic development around the state, not just in urban areas," says the 60-year-old, silver-haired Mr. Gargano. "So I didn't think the name was appropriate."
Exactly how the consolidation will work is still being discussed. The boards of the separate agencies may be retained, with the same members serving on all the boards. Or one overall board could be created for the new corporation.
Staff for the four entities will be combined as much as possible and be reduced to about 800 from the current 1,000.
"I saw a lot of duplication,...