ALBANY – The term of the state-appointed monitor that oversees activities of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency expires in May and the man who holds that position says it should be continued.

State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) said a three-year extension will be included in the state budget and monitor Brian Sanvidge said the IDA “needs oversight in some capacity” going forward.

“The amount of money of taxpayer funds that they are spending to fight oversight is unconscionable,” he said. “From hiring lobbyists to this crisis management communications firm, and now the litigation they are bringing against the state inspector general’s office, my office in the role as monitor because they refuse to allow me to meet with Amazon and ask the questions that I’ve been trying to get answers to since November.”

The IDA and Sanvidge clashed when Sanvidge vetoed the agency’s approval of financial incentives for a 3.2 million square foot Amazon distribution center in the Town of Wawayanda.

The IDA says it has followed all procedures and has done nothing wrong.