15+ Groups Ask Gov and Legislative Leaders to Fund 3-Year Extension of Orange County IDA Monitor
February 12, 2026
Kathy C. Hochul
Governor of New York State
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
New York State Senate
Speaker Carl Heastie
New York State Assembly
Re: Funding a Three-Year Extension of the Orange County IDA monitor
Dear Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie,
We write to urge you to include funds in the FY 2026-27 budget to extend the tenure of the monitor appointed for the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) by another three years.
We believe the monitor’s last two years have been a major success and saved both Orange County and New York State taxpayers tens of millions of dollars that would have otherwise been lost through unwarranted and wasteful tax breaks – including $80 million in subsidies for an Amazon logistics facility of the type that company officials have previously admitted are located based on access to markets and transportation networks, not government subsidies.
Prior to the monitor’s appointment in 2024, the Orange County IDA was consumed by a major corruption scandal, politicized and publicly condemned for poor decision making. Many of our groups strongly supported the provision in the FY 2023-24 budget that created the monitor and gave them the power to attend all IDA meetings, review contracts and plans for financial assistance, and reject contracts or plans for financial assistance if any violation or conflict of interest was found.
We believe that rather than letting the contract end, the state should extend the monitor’s term and replicate this model for other IDAs across the state. Please extend the monitor’s term for another three years in the upcoming budget.
Sincerely,
Reinvent Albany
1199 SEIU
AFSCME New York
Albany Progressive Action Network
Alliance for Quality Education (AQE)
Citizen Action of New York
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)
For the Many
Guilderland Coalition for Responsible Growth
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)
New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness
NY Statewide Senior Action Council
NYPAN Greene County
NYS Council of Churches
Strong Economy For All Coalition
Westchester for Change