A Ramapo town police officer who collected nearly $442,000 was New York State’s highest paid local government employee outside New York City during the 12 months ending March 31, according to the 2017 edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center annual analysis of local government pay.
The report features the average pay and number of employees for the counties, cities, towns and villages outside New York City during the 12 months ending March 31, 2017, and includes separate averages and totals for uniformed police and fire employees. The data used to generate the report, including a breakdown by name and employer of 174,635 individuals who received $9.7 billion in total pay during the year, are searchable on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The newest data show that, among active local government workers belonging to the New York State and Local Retirement System:
- The highest paid employee was Ramapo town police officer Thomas C. Donnelly, who collected $441,968. Donnelly reportedly retired in August.
- For the second year in a row, 47 of the 50 highest-paid employees overall were police officers. Among the top 10, Donnelly and five others were town police officers in Rockland County.
- The 20 police officers in the Village of Kings Point in Nassau County had the highest average pay of any group of employees, at $220,088.
“Personnel costs are the biggest part of most local government budgets, and thereby the biggest driver behind our high property taxes,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “This report provides a tool for local officials and taxpayers who want to see how their community stacks up.”
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and do business.
You may also like
132 NYSLRS Retirees Receive Pensions Over $200K in FY2026
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
Empire Center Poll: Just 4 Percent Approve of New York’s Education System
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
New York’s electricity prices climb to third highest in the U.S.
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
Port Authority Payroll Passes $1.2B as 20 Employees Collect $400k+
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
NYC Employee Pension Payments Rise To $6.2 billion
The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 62 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website.
According to the d Read More
Empire Center Poll: New Yorkers Prioritize Low Energy Prices and Have Little Appetite for Radical Climate Policies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers across political, geographic, age, and income groups oppose energy and climate policies that raise energy prices or force changes on homeowners, according to new Empire Center analysis Read More
New York’s Electricity Prices Fourth Highest in the Country
New York households are paying the fourth-highest electricity prices in the country, according to the Empire Center's In April 2026, residential electricity prices in New York averaged 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour - 56 percent above the national average Read More
Fourteen NYC Educators Receive Over Half a Million Dollars in Pensions
Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The data was obtained from the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Read More