A total of 665 state and local government workers — including 28 from the Lower Hudson Valley — have permission to collect both a full-time salary and retirement payments, according to a new report. Read More
Month: October 2014
Back in the day, the Internet was fancied as an information highway. Today, throughout New York State, citizens have been given little more than a path. A new study by the Empire Center for Public Policy has documented how badly local governments have botched the opportunities presented by the Internet to inform citizens and taxpayers. Read More
The City of Binghamton is one of the highest taxing cities in New York State. That's according to the Empire Center for Public Policy, which said the city's 2.5 percent effective tax is the most when compared to local governments outside of New York City. Read More
White Plains last year had the highest total taxes per capita among cities in New York, while Binghamton had the highest effective property-tax rate in the state, a review Monday found. Read More
New York State residents pay some of the highest local taxes in the nation. To help New Yorkers compare some of the basic fiscal measures for local governments, the Empire Center for Public Policy has calculated effective property tax rates and per-capita values for the spending, debt and tax levels of counties, cities, town and villages throughout the state, excluding only New York City. Read More
Albany and Binghamton topped the list for property taxes in the 2014 update of Benchmarking New York, the Empire Center web tool that connects users with tax, spending and debt data from local governments outside New York City. Read More
If wishes were horses, the recent Albany news conference by the New York State Educational Conference Board could be restaged as the Charge of the Light Brigade -- a doomed assault against budgetary reality. Read More
"The legislature needs to give an indication they are interested in reforming themselves before we talk about giving them any pay raises," said E.J. McMahon of The Empire Center, a right-leaning public policy think tank. McMahon said that Legislature needs to reduce the number of pay-bumping leadership titles it hands out as rewards to loyal members, increase the transparency of what is spent internally, and "show an intent to perform." Read More