Despite the prospect of exploding budget gaps in the future, Albany has taken only modest steps toward streamlining state government, such as closing a few prisons and offering $20,000 buyouts to state employees. Read More
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Workforce Reduction Plans (WRPs) submitted by state agencies will save $260 million over the next two years "through a combination of severance payments, attrition, and the elimination of funded vacancies," the. Pardon us for holding our applause. Read More
Attention New York: on the eve (roughly) of the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse, a new report from J.P.Morgan in London opines that because of the effects of eight likely financial-regulatory changes worldwide, "what is certain ... Read More
New York City will track the whereabouts of its 379 building inspectors with GPS technology installed, not in their city-issued vehicles, but in their cell phones. Read More
The financial and corporate sectors' highest rollers during the boom-and-bubble period have also been hit hardest by the recession. A on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal reviews how the downturn is affecting the incomes of th Read More
Jay Walder, Gov. Paterson's pick to head the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, took questions from Democratic senators today ahead of their Thursday vote on his nomination. Of interest: Walder's views on private-public partnerships and whethe Read More
The MTA's continued funding woes aren't just hurting mass transit riders and downstate taxpayers. They're hurting New York's ability to keep its bridges and tunnels in reasonable repair. Bond analysts at Fitch may downgrade the debt backing the Tr Read More
Gov. Paterson's pick to run the MTA, Jay Walder, took questions from state senators yesterday on Long Island ahead of his confirmation vote next Thursday. Senators will hold a second hearing (in Harlem) next Tuesday. Here's hoping that they do a b Read More
As schools open, the number of school districts at impasse with teacher unions has increased by 12 percent since a year ago, according to the Public Employment Relations Board. Also noteworthy--although not emphasized by PERB--nearly one out of three school districts has yet to negotiate a new contract with its teachers. Read More
Tax-funded contributions to the New York State Employee Retirement System (ERS) will have to jump by 61 percent between 2010 and 2011, . Contributions for members of the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS)--already higher to begin with--will r Read More
The New York Times has about city and state or "moderate-income housing." The head of New York State's Housing Finance Agency, Priscilla Almodovar, said one aspect of the plan will involve using the state's credit to guarantee mortgages fo Read More
Should physicians, who are licensed by the state of New York, be required to take a civil service exam in order to work for the state of New York? A state judge thinks so, but that's unlikely to be the last word on the controversy. Read More