A small Long Island village had the highest-paid group of local government employees last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report.
The village of Lloyd Harbor’s 12 police officers were paid an average of $187,973. A total of 175,327 records, detailing $9.31 billion in pay, were examined for the report, and are now searchable on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The data also show Peter F. Brower, the now-retired Ramapo police chief, was the highest-paid local government employee outside New York City last year. He was paid $369,088.
Forty of the 50 highest-paid local government employees were police officers. Twenty-four of them worked for Nassau County.
The report uses pay data reported to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. The amounts listed in the report do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance or employer pension contributions, which can add 35 percent or more to the cost for taxpayers.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. - New Yorkers across the political spectrum are considering leaving the state. A new finds that Republicans and independent voters most often cite taxes as the reason, while Dem Read More
Albany steered $97.2 million to 206 local projects during the first half of 2026 in the newest batch of state discretionary grants, according to. The new tranche is the latest addition to the pork-barrel grant database the Empire Center h Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the fifth‑highest residential electricity prices in the country in June 2026, trailing only Hawaii, California Read More
Nine millionaires, all healthcare executives, emerged among the 88,228 New York public authority employees, according to, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The data includes payroll information from 385 different agen Read More
A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 132 Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers gave the state’s education system a sweeping vote of no confidence: 47 percent said the state should improve student performance, 41 percent said it should improve performance while spending less, and only 4 Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country in May 2026, trailing only Hawaii and California.
The latest U.S. Energy Information Administra Read More
Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The Por Read More