Blog

The Judiciary isn't playing ball with Gov. Cuomo's efforts to reduce the state budget, as I point out in the New York Post today. A person who has reviewed the budget proposal by the Office for Court Administration (OCA) emails this follow-up... Read More

In the publishing business, the annotation "TK" is used in manuscripts to indicate some important piece of information is "to come." Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 Executive Budget is a book draft with an impressive cover and a promising theme... Read More

Today's NY1/YNN-Marist Poll of New York voter attitudes on state budget issues may set a new benchmark for complete disregard of a key policy detail, resulting in at least one finding that is essentially worthless. Here's how the Marist pollsters framed the question... Read More

The days leading up to the presentation of New York State's Executive Budget are traditionally used by the governor's office to leak selected details from the coming proposal. Andrew Cuomo, however, is breaking the mold. Last Friday -- Budget D-Day minus... Read More

Governor Cuomo says the state of Wisconsin is the model for his unusual collaborative approach to attempting to reduce Medicaid costs in New York -- but a report in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) cites "little evidence of savings"... Read More

Following up on a campaign promise, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is saying he will freeze the salaries of state government workers for a year. Is this a big deal? No. I explain why in this post at the Manhattan Institute's new website, www.PublicSectorInc.org. Read More

Two cities in heavily taxed Niagara County have agreed to share the burden of providing water services. But the deal first needed to get around objections from a municipal labor union. Read More

New York's public-sector employees have been promised $205 billion in post-retirement health benefits that the state and its local governments have set aside no money to pay for, a new Empire Center report found. Read More

To the public demanding to know why the school superintendent is leaving early and four other administrators have been fired, suspended or transferred, the Jordan-Elbridge school board replies: None of your business. Read More

Faced with a potential 26 percent hike in its tax levy, the Town of Woodstock is weighing a plan to require some retired employees to pick up a bigger share of their health insurance. Promise now, pay later. That's the approach local governments, school districts and the State of New York itself have taken... Read More

Harrison town officials are pirouetting after a police officer asked the town to pay $2,845 for him to take a dance course at a private college. It appears that the police union contract--previously approved by town officials--requires the town... Read More

Three Nassau County police officers just retired with severance packages exceeding $632,000--each. In New Jersey where the New Brunswick police chief accumulated $376,234 in unused sick time, the Legislature is considering $15,000 cap. As the Trenton Times writes... Read More