Panel named to review development plans

A national expert on metropolitan areas, a former New York State budget director and a former Connecticut economic development chief were among those tapped Thursday to grade the job creation plans of 10 state regions, including Long Island.

The plans, meant to bolster employment and investment over the next five years, were drawn up by councils appointed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Four of the 10 councils will each receive $40 million in state aid.

The five-member panel that was named Thursday will review the economic strategies and make recommendations to Cuomo. He is expected to announce the winners next month. The panel will hear presentations in the state Capitol on Nov. 28-30.

The panel members are: Walter D. Broadnax, a public administration professor at Syracuse University; Dall W. Forsythe, a former budget director for Gov. Mario M. Cuomo; Bruce J. Katz, director of the metropolitan policy program at the Brookings Institution in Washington; Joan McDonald, state transportation commissioner and former Connecticut development czar; and Cesar Perales, New York's secretary of state.

Kenneth Adams, head of Empire State Development Corp., said the panel members "have extensive experience in growing economies from the bottom up and leveraging state and local resources to create jobs."

Cuomo has earmarked up to $1 billion in 2011-12 for development projects to be awarded in a competitive process.