The state Department of Taxation and Finance has issued "" of New York's new tax cap. In addition, on a , the agency has posted its first-ever annual estimates of growth in assessed property value due to new construction for all New York counties a Read More
Thirteen percent of newly retired members of the state Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) in 2010 qualified for a pension of more than $100,000, according to data posted at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Most of the 125 new PFRS retirees with six-figure pensions worked for agencies on Long Island and in the lower Hudson Valley, including the Port Authority of NY & NJ, continuing a trend that has developed in the past decade. Read More
A new study by the Manhattan Institute’s Marcus Winters, confirming a wealth of other research, shows that the credentials valued under teacher contracts don’t equate to better teaching. Read More
New York has one of the nation's largest and highest-paid state and local government workforces, according to the latest data. Based on March 2010 payrolls, the average annual salary per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee of state and local gove Read More
Union membership in New York City remains the highest in the country but has declined in recent years, according to a new (but not yet publicly released) report from the City University's Murphy Institute. The report's main finding, as summarize Read More
The city's independent budget office (IBO) has released on New York's post-9/11 disaster and recovery spending. So who got the Liberty Bond money? As part of its $20.5 billion aid package, remember, Washington gave the city $1.2 billion to suppor Read More
The has just released a new index that takes a comprehensive approach to measuring just how powerful government unions are in each of the 50 states. Which state had the lowest ranking, denoting the most powerful Read More
The St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators is holding a on a proposal to override the state's new property tax cap as part of the county's budget. Although the tentative 2012 county budget is not due until Nov. 15, l suggest county officials are g Read More