(AP) — The unprecedented idea of creating a statewide "control board" to steer several cities away from bankruptcy is getting a chilly response from mayors.

The mayors of Syracuse, Albany, Rochester and Yonkers say local leaders need to be part of any solution to the fiscal problems facing municipalities. The mayors say even a recovery from the recession won't change the basic problems they're confronting: diminishing tax revenues and rising costs.

The mayors were reacting to a story Monday in the New York Post.

Control boards have been used since the 1970s to cut spending and make other hard decisions in New York City, Buffalo, Troy, Yonkers and Nassau County.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a report last week that communities could face "devastating" fiscal conditions in coming years.