“SUNY Purchase in Westchester County has been trying to get permission to lease about 41 acres of land to a nonprofit corporation that would build and operate housing for senior citizens who want to take courses and participate in campus activities.” Is this another attempt by developers to avoid paying property taxes under the guise of ‘participating in campus activities’ by building on schoolland?

ALBANY — A report on the State University of New York Research Foundation found that SUNY has farmed out a number of tasks to its private research arm that it can’t do on its own, such as entering into joint ventures.
The work isn’t central to the Research Foundation’s mission and has diffused its purpose, according to the SUNY-commissioned report on the foundation and its relationship with SUNY central administration and campuses. The work has included hiring employees for special projects; owning and managing property and facilities for SUNY-affiliated ventures; and entering into collaborations that would be “administratively difficult” to do on its own.
“The proliferation of affiliates has been criticized by OAG (Office of Attorney General) and OSC (Office of State Comptroller) as ‘end-runs’ around State counsel that have created some skepticism or even hostility toward SUNY,” said the report by the Hogan Lovells law firm.
“Those offices dislike what they perceive as SUNY using the RF to achieve an ‘evasion’ of their authority to monitor and approve SUNY activities,” it continued.
The Research Foundation is a private arm of SUNY that administers roughly $900 million in grants each year, the fourth largest portfolio of sponsored research in the nation.
SUNY cannot lease or transfer property to any private entity other than the state Dormitory Authority and SUNY Construction Fund. The consultants recommended SUNY seek a change in state education law.
SUNY officials have been pushing the Legislature for permission to enter into public-private partnerships without needing project-specific approvals. Lawmakers, however, have been reluctant to give them that authority and it doesn’t appear to be forthcoming this session, which is slated to end June 20.
“They have for years developed public-private partnerships, but they’ve been done with legislative oversight and we believe that’s appropriate, and various recommendations that we change that methodology have not been embraced,” said Assembly Higher Education Chairwoman Deborah Glick, D-Manhattan.
Senate Higher Education Committee Chairman Kenneth LaValle, R-Suffolk County, said he was in favor of public-private partnerships that further SUNY’s mission, but lawmakers need to vet proposals.
“When we talk about public-private partnerships, we need to make sure that these are being done as an arm’s length transaction and not one that involves a lot of conflicts of interest, and so the Legislature is a good filter to ensure that things are being done in an appropriate way,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman declined to comment on the report. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office provided a 2005 audit that said it appeared SUNY used the foundation to “circumvent” state policies and procedures for purchasing goods and services.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher unsuccessfully sought legislation last year that would allow the 64-campus system to set tuition without needing approval during the annual state budget process; give it more flexibility in procurement; and authorize public-private partnerships. Included in this year’s state budget is a provision that relaxes requirements for the state comptroller and attorney general’s offices to conduct pre-purchase reviews of contracts for goods.
On tuition, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate and Assembly leaders are negotiating legislation that would allow SUNY to increase tuition by up to 5 percent annually for five years. The university system’s four university centers —in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook, Suffolk County — would have the authority to boost tuition by 8 percent a year during that time period to expand their programs and encourage economic development.
That authority, which would relate specifically to long-term plans that have to be approved by SUNY and the state, would not extend to other SUNY state-operated campuses. The university centers are eligible for up to $35 million each and are expected to use the grants to leverage additional funds.
SUNY Purchase in Westchester County has been trying to get permission to lease about 41 acres of land to a nonprofit corporation that would build and operate housing for senior citizens who want to take courses and participate in campus activities.

The legislation passed once, in 2008, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. David Paterson. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, Westchester County, said Friday that she was confident it would be approved again this year. “Barring any real crisis or surprises, I expect that we are home free,” said Paulin, who is sponsoring the legislation along with Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, Westchester County.
Earlier this session, the Legislature passed and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill permitting the SUNY College at Farmingdale in Nassau County to lease land to expand the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park.
The release of the Hogan Lovells report came amid controversy surrounding the head of the Research Foundation, John O’Connor. The state Commission on Public Integrity has alleged that O’Connor violated state ethics by hiring the daughter of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno to a $70,000-per-year “no-show” job.
O’Connor, who denied the allegation, resigned from his $275,669-a-year position the day the report was presented to trustees. He also served as secretary of SUNY and senior vice chancellor for research and innovation. His tenure officially ends Wednesday.
The state inspector general and DiNapoli’s office are investigating the foundation and O’Connor’s decision to hire Susan Bruno. The comptroller said his auditors were looking at a number of issues, including compensation, hiring, potential conflicts of interest and the relationship SUNY and the foundation have.
SUNY board of trustees Chairman Carl Hayden is appointing a task force to study the report and make recommendations. Zimpher, president of the Research Foundation board, is doing the same.
CLMATTHE http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110613/NEWS01/106130323/Report-SUNY-skirts-rules-affiliates