More than 1,000 retired New York State school teachers and administrators are entitled to annual pensions of more than $100,000, according to pension data posted today on www.SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website. The new database from the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) includes name, benefit rate, retirement date and last known employer when available, for 134,796 people collecting pensions in 2009. Read More
Governor David Paterson is proposing an early-retirement option for the state and its local governments that he says is “designed to achieve cost-savings for public employers and to avoid layoffs of public employees in this time of fiscal need.” Read More
Spiraling costs of employee benefits--as well as 4 percent pay raises--are squeezing the budgets of both New York State and New York City. According to the state Division of Budget (DOB), employee benefits (pensions, health insurance, federal payroll taxes... Read More
e21 has a good staff editorial up on the now-tragic Greek crisis, with possible implications for New York and California. The plan for Greece, of course, is for Europe and the IMF to bail out the debt-drenched nation's bondholders, by imposing austerity... Read More
When freezing salaries for public employees has been proposed, critics said it couldn't be done. But an analysis of court decisions shows that the state Legislature has the power to freeze the salaries of all state, local and school district employees... Read More
Property taxes per pupil would rise by nearly twice the rate of inflation under proposed school districts budgets that will go to voters around New York State in two weeks, according to an analysis issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The state Legislature has the power to impose a temporary freeze on the collectively bargained wages and “step” increments of public employees in New York to help deal with a severe fiscal crisis, according to a legal opinion released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
President Obama is expected to unveil his national health-insurance plan in just a couple of months. But when it comes to expanding government-subsidized coverage, broke and recession-battered New York state has already gotten a jump on him. Read More