Here's another item to add to the list of this week's Greene County bloopers.
The Authorities Budget Office has released some conclusions about the controversial bonuses that Alexander "Sandy" Mathes, the executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority, has pulled in over the years.
In the first of four rather damning bullet points in a letter sent to the Greene County IDA on Friday, David Kindera, the director of the ABO, finds that Mathes got $130,000 more than he should have:
Of the $282,500 in bonus payments awarded to the Executive Director, $130,000 cannot be justified in the context of the performance evaluation program. The $20,000 bonus payment made in 2004, and the $100,000 bonus payment awarded in 2006 (payable in equal installments over 4 years) appear to have been approved by the board without evidence that the Executive Director performed measurable and clearly stated extraordinary services warranting such payments. In addition, it appears that the Executive Director received duplicative bonus payments in 2007 and 2008 since the justification for both bonus payments was completing the acquisition of the Travco Industrial Park. After completing the acquisition and approving a $10,000 bonus for the Executive Director for 2007, the GCIDA cannot justify making a similar payment in 2008 for the same accomplishment. While the Authorities Budget Office implies no wrongdoing on the part of the Executive Director, we believe the GCIDA board has a fiduciary duty to recover this $130,000
Thanks to WGCX and the Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog for the story.
Here's the full ABO letter, for your reading pleasure:
