Welcome to the Albany Research in Public Administration (ARPA) webpage. ARPA is an independent research entity located in Albany, New York. Our goal is to promote quality research solutions which help public managers. Our research focus is in the areas of public finance and energy regulation issues. We also file professional comments with organizations such as the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
Our 2022 research agenda has commenced with a study concerning the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System as maintained by the Office of the New York State Comptroller. The study makes recommendations to improve the system for county and city governments. We also have our continuing monthly reports on Moody's Investors Service bond ratings for local governments in New York State. We have also submitted comments to Moody's Investors Service on January 12, 2022 concerning their proposal to revise the bond rating methodology for states and territories. Two staff members from Moody's contacted us through a telephone interview on January 14 to discuss the merits of the comments that were submitted. We also submitted comments during March 2022 to the New York State Climate Section Council Draft Scoping Plan concerning the electricity system in New York State. Sincerely yours, Kevin M. Bronner, Ph.D.