Report: Volker among big spenders in State Legislature

State Sen. Dale Volker, whose legislative district includes Wyoming County, accrued more than $1 million in office expenditures for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, according to a new report on the Empire Center’s government transparency Web site, www.SeeThroughNY.net.

The site reports the spending of individual State Senate and Assembly members for such items as staff, rent, travel, telephone service, office supplies and other expenditures. The posted data, which can be downloaded on a spreadsheet, covers the periods April 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2008 and Oct. 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009.

Volker’s expenditures ranked him among the top five spenders in the State Senate for that period. The area’s other state senator, Michael Ranzenhofer, R-Clarence, was only in office for three months of the time measured and ranked second from the bottom with $28,952 in expenses. Ranzenhofer took office Jan. 1, 2009.

Area legislators Daniel Burling and Stephen Hawley both ranked near the bottom in expenditures in the State Assembly.

In the 62-member Senate, the top spender was Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, who served as the Senate majority leader from late June 2008 through December 2009. During the fiscal year, Skelos spent $1,274,354, excluding his leadership expenses.

The Senate’s top 20 spenders were all Republicans with one exception — Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, who had close ties with Republicans at the time. He ranked as the Senate’s fourth highest spender at $1,116,232. Other Senate heavy hitters were Serphin Maltese, R-Queens, $1,144,068; Frank Padavan, R-Queens, $1,118,617; and Volker, R-Depew, $1,082,884.

Although Democrats took control of the Senate majority in January 2009, many Republican employees kept their jobs until March 31, 2009, so the final six-month report does not reflect a significant bulge in spending by the new Democratic majority.

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, spent $875,165 during the 12-month period, making him the highest spender among the 150 members of his house.

The Assembly’s next highest spenders were: Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, $695,185; Catherine Nolan, D-Queens,$656,074; Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, $607,069; and Robin Schimminger, D-Erie County, $600,378.The sixth highest was Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, at $585,862 for his expenditures as an Assembly member. That does not include his expenditures as Assembly speaker.

Burling, R-Castile, spent a total of $269,790 for the period, ranking him 113th in the Assembly. Hawley, R-Batavia, spent $241,532 and ranked 135th.

Not included in the expenditure reports are member items, or pork barrel projects, which also can be viewed on the “Expenditures” section of www.SeeThroughNY.net.