Comptroller Bill Henry has not approved a city employee’s travel expenses in four years, citing structural issues within the city’s Board of Estimates. “I guess we’re about at the four-year anniversary of this,” Henry said, reflecting on his abstention from voting on travel requests.

Henry, a member of the Board of Estimates, explained his decision as a philosophical stance on how city government is structured. The board consists of five members: the comptroller, City Council President Zeke Cohen, the mayor, and two mayoral appointees. This composition gives the mayor majority control over board decisions. “Those three votes really do control the board,” Henry said. “Nothing passes the BOE unless the mayor is okay with it.”

ALSO READ |

Henry believes that while travel expenses should be disclosed, they should not require board approval, especially given the mayor’s control. “I find it inappropriate that another elected official can arbitrarily decide… I’m not going to allow you to do this travel,” he said.

David Williams, a taxpayer advocate, echoed Henry’s concerns, stating, “The Board of Estimates needs to be restructured. You can’t have one dominant force on the Board of Estimates especially when it’s the mayor and so many people are beholden to the mayor.”

Critics have long called for a restructuring of the board to ensure equal control among its members. “There is no oversight, there is no accountability when it’s controlled by one person… the mayor,” Williams said.

Henry is currently working to revise the travel approval policy and is attaching explanations to each Board of Estimates agenda. He wrote, “I am abstaining from all travel requests while my office engages with the Administration in collaborative discussions to rationalize the process for approval and oversight of travel requests.” This move requires approval from the mayor.

“Right now the way the city is set up… the mayor is completely in charge,” Henry said, vowing to continue proposing reforms at the Board of Estimates.