Municipal boards do not have a lot of time to react. The recent budget amendment by state Gov. Andrew Cuomo was The Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act. This puts decisions on large-scale solar and wind projects at the discretion of New York state.

That has many residents worried.

Last week, the state Conference of Mayors criticized the effort. “Since 2011, the siting of large energy plants has been controlled by the Article 10 Siting Board, which was created to facilitate the enormous and complicated process of siting electric generating facilities in New York state,” the organization wrote. “Although the process is not perfect, project developers, local governments, judges, intervenor groups, and the Siting Board have worked diligently to create a regulatory and legal framework that facilitates the State’s energy goals while identifying and mitigating local siting impacts.

“This newly proposed alternative eliminates any meaningful role for local governments as the representatives of their communities and their taxpayers. NYCOM is strongly opposed to the use of this new ‘fast track’ siting process which is really just a way around local governments and their communities’ concerns. We are conveying our opposition to the governor and the State Legislature and we encourage you to do the same.”

Full disclosure: this newspaper is not a fan of NYCOM, which works against government efficiencies to continue to boost its revenue stream. That being said, local boards need to voice their disapproval of this proposal.