Press Releases

Ramapo’s 104 police officers were paid an average of $173,361 last year, making them the highest-paid town police in New York, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More

Oneida County paid its 1,825 employees an average of $41,795, more than the other five counties in the region, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More

Syracuse's 789 uniformed police and fire employees were the highest-paid group of local government employees in Central New York last year, averaging $85,367, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More

Canton's village police officers were the highest-paid group of local government employees last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. The nine police officers were paid an average of $73,729. Read More

Ithaca’s employees were the highest-paid city employees in the region, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Its general employees were paid an average of $44,041, and its uniformed police and fire employees averaged $82,726. Read More

Amherst town police were the highest-paid group of local government employees north of the Mid-Hudson Valley, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. The town's 154 uniformed police officers were paid an average of $106,121. Read More

Long Island police officers dominated the list of highest-paid local government employees outside New York City in 2014, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Thirty-one of the 50 highest-paid local government employees were police officers on Long Island, including 24 Nassau County police officers. Read More

A Wayne County doctor was the highest-paid local government employee in the Finger Lakes region last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Dr. Harlan Kosson, who county records indicate is paid $130 per hour for psychiatric services, was paid a total of $266,110. Read More

A small Long Island village had the highest-paid group of local government employees last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More

The Empire Center for Public Policy has produced a new online video series in which a dozen New York State employers explain how their hiring patterns would be affected by a proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage. Read More

The number of teachers and other educational professionals paid more than $100,000 by school districts outside New York City climbed to 49,834 last year, according to payroll data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour would cost New York between 200,000 and 588,800 jobs, according a report released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More