Residents of the Western New York village of Sloan had the highest effective property tax rate in New York (outside New York City and Nassau), according to Benchmarking NY, the Empire Center’s annual rundown of local property tax burdens. Read More
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New York’s public-sector collective bargaining law, the Taylor Law, is unique in that it’s the only law that people risk breaking by discussing it. The Empire Center launched “Dues and Don’ts” to help public employers fulfill their obligation to educate employees about their rights without fear of improper practice charges under the Taylor Law. Visit the Dues & Don'ts website to learn more. Read More
In what's become an annual tradition, New York state lawmakers have re-introduced bills designed to prohibit or restrict changes to expensive continuing health insurance coverage for current and future government retirees—which would effectively lock in a growing unfunded liability of more than a quarter trillion dollars for taxpayers across the state. Read More
The Empire Center for Public Policy will honor the late former Governor Hugh L. Carey with a policy forum series devoted to issues in New York State government. Read More
State and local government employees in New York collect taxpayer-guaranteed pension benefits that are far more generous than those available to most private-sector workers. Use this calculator to see just how generous those benefits can be. Read More
Is it time to consider potential changes to New York’s state budget-making rules? At its inaugural Governor Hugh L. Carey Policy Forum in Albany on May 30, the Empire Center will assemble leading experts with hands-on experience in the budget process to explore answers to those questions. Read More
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees were paid an average of $100,302 last year, according to data released today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Overtime payments jumped nearly 16 percent last year at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), fueling agency-wide average pay hikes of 6 percent, according to newly posted payroll records at SeeThroughNY.net. The increase in MTA payroll costs for 2018 alone was $418 million—$82 million more than the authority expects to raise annually from its latest round of fare, ticket and toll hikes. Read More