The Office of
ComptrollerA comptroller or controller is a person who supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization. A controller is an accountant in a business who oversees accounting and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls...
of New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
Bill ThompsonWilliam Colridge Thompson, Jr. , known as Bill or Billy, is the 42nd Comptroller of New York City. Sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1, 2006...
who is in his second term.
The comptroller is responsible for auditing the performance and finances of city agencies, making recommendations regarding proposed contracts, issuing reports on the state of the city economy, marketing and selling municipal bonds, managing city debt, and serving as managing trustee of the public employees pensions funds.
The Office of
ComptrollerA comptroller or controller is a person who supervises accounting and financial reporting within an organization. A controller is an accountant in a business who oversees accounting and the implementation and monitoring of internal controls...
of New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
Bill ThompsonWilliam Colridge Thompson, Jr. , known as Bill or Billy, is the 42nd Comptroller of New York City. Sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1, 2006...
who is in his second term.
Duties
The comptroller is responsible for auditing the performance and finances of city agencies, making recommendations regarding proposed contracts, issuing reports on the state of the city economy, marketing and selling municipal bonds, managing city debt, and serving as managing trustee of the public employees pensions funds. As managing trustee, the comptroller presides over the boards of the funds, along with managing assets. Overall fund governance is with boards of the individual funds.
History
The office was created as an appointive office in 1801, and in 1831, the Comptroller became head of the department of finance. In 1884 the office became elective, and in 1938 the comptroller became head of a separate, independent department of the City's government.
Until it was found unconstitutional in 1989, the Comptroller served on the eight-member
New York City Board of EstimateThe New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City, responsible for budget and land-use decisions. Under the charter of the newly amalgamated City of Greater New York the Board of Estimate and Apportionment was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York...
, which was composed of the
Mayor of New York CityThe Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The Mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
, the Comptroller and the President of the
New York City CouncilThe New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as balance of power against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies...
, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five
Borough presidentBorough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...
s, each having one vote.
If vacancies should simultaneously occur in the offices of
Mayor of New York CityThe Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The Mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
and New York City Public Advocate (formerly President of the
City CouncilThe New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as balance of power against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies...
or Board of Aldermen), the Comptroller would become Acting Mayor.
These have been the three offices elected city-wide, so traditional practice has tried to balance a winning three-candidate ticket among the City's different ethnic, religious and political interests (and, more recently, between the sexes). But, while there is a delicate interaction between the campaigns for the three offices, the actual election results can sometimes differ quite markedly. (For examples of three such municipal tickets, see the article about Alan Hevesi).
2009 election
The Democratic nominee in the 2009 election is
John LiuJohn Chun Liu is a New York City elected official, currently serving on the New York City Council representing District 20. He was elected in 2001 to represent northeast Queens and was re-elected in 2003 and 2005...
and the Republican nominee is Joseph Mendola.
Comptrollers of the City of New York since Consolidation (1898)
- 1898-1901 Bird S. Coler
Bird Sim Coler was an American politician. He established himself as a stockbroker in New York City, became prominent in municipal and State politics, and served as first Comptroller of Greater New York in 1897-1901. In 1902, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York, but lost to...
- 1902-1905 Edward M. Grout
- 1906-1908 Herman A. Metz
Herman August Metz was a German-American businessman and politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York.-Life and business career:...
- 1910-1917 W.A. Pendergast
- 1918-1925 Charles L. Craig
- 1926-1932 Charles W. Berry
- 1933 George McAneny
- 1934 Arthur Cunningham
Arthur Cunningham is an American composer.-Biography:Cunningham began writing music at the age of 12 to be performed with his jazz band. He attended Fisk University , Juilliard, and Columbia University's Teachers College, attaining his Master's in 1957...
- 1935 Joseph D. McGoldrick
- 1936-1937 Frank J. Taylor
- 1938-1945 Joseph D. McGoldrick
- 1946-1953 Lazarus Joseph
Lazarus Joseph was an attorney, six-time New York State Senator from 1934-45 , and New York City Comptroller .- Career :...
- 1954-1961 Lawrence E. Gerosa
- 1962-1965 Abraham D. Beame
- 1966-1969 Mario Procaccino
Mario Angelo Procaccino was a lawyer, comptroller, and candidate for mayor of New York City.Procaccino was born in Bisaccia, Italy. When Mario was nine, the Procaccinos arrived in the United States, and despite poverty and discrimination, he graduated from City College and Fordham Law, becoming a...
- 1970-1973 Abraham D. Beame
- 1974-1989 Harrison J. Goldin
Harrison Jay Goldin is a lawyer and former New York politician. He served as New York City Comptroller from 1974 to 1989. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1973 and ran in the 1989 Democratic Primary election for Mayor of New York...
- 1990-1993 Elizabeth Holtzman
Elizabeth Holtzman is an American lawyer and former Democratic politician, pioneer woman officeholder, four term U.S. Representative , two term District Attorney of Kings County , and New York City Comptroller Her role on the House Judiciary committee during the Watergate scandal drew national...
- 1994-2001 Alan G. Hevesi
- 2002-present William Thompson
William Colridge Thompson, Jr. , known as Bill or Billy, is the 42nd Comptroller of New York City. Sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1, 2006...
Historical Source: Article on "comptroller" by Noel C. Garelick in
The Encyclopedia of New York CityThe Encyclopedia of New York City is a comprehensive reference book on New York City. Historian and Columbia University professor Kenneth T...
, edited by
Kenneth T. JacksonKenneth Terry Jackson is a professor of history and social sciences at Columbia University. A frequent television guest, he is best known as an urban historian and a preeminent authority on New York City, where he lives on the Upper West Side....
(
Yale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
and The New York Historical Society,
New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest municipality in Connecticut, after Bridgeport and just ahead of Hartford, with a core population of about 124,000 people. "New Haven" may also refer to the wider Greater New Haven area, which has nearly 600,000 inhabitants in the immediate area...
, 1995, ISBN 0-300-05536-6)
External links