A state comptroller's report says staffing levels at the Department of Environmental Conservation have dropped since 2003 while the agency's responsibilities have grown.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says Wednesday that DEC spending was $795.3 million in the 2003-04 fiscal year and $1 billion in 2013-14, an increase of 1.7 percent after inflation.
DiNapoli says the size of the DEC workforce declined 10.4 percent, from 3,256 full-time staff in 2003-04 to 2,917 today.
DEC spokesman Tom Mailey Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration has devoted more than $16 billion for infrastructure, resiliency, clean energy and environmental programs, the boldest commitment to the environment in recent history.
Mailey said new technologies and streamlined management systems have made the agency more efficient.
