Month: December 2019

But critics like McMahon argue tying up millions in state funding in order to serve a few municipalities does little to benefit the state as a whole. The money, he said, would be better used addressing regional infrastructure concerns that will make larger swaths of the state more appealing, ultimately leading to greater outside economic investment. Read More

According to a recent report by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, the city’s $51.66 effective property tax rate ranks ninth in western New York behind Cheektowaga in Erie County and the Allegany County municipalities of Wellsville, Andover, Alfred, Almond, Burns, Cuba, and Alma. Jamestown’s effective tax rate is the highest in Chautauqua County. Read More

In his continuing effort to fill a slow-news holiday period with advance proposals from his upcoming 2020 State of the State message, Governor Cuomo today dusted off one of Albany's creakiest bipartisan infrastructure fantasies: high-speed passenger rail service. Read More

Instead of properly managing Medicaid, the state’s biggest and most important program, Cuomo subverted his own reforms, whitewashed official reports, withheld information from the Legislature and the public, flouted his constitutional duties and, worst of all, secretly delayed $1.7 billion in payments from one fiscal year to the next. Read More

A proposed rule under consideration by the U.S. Department of Labor would have the unexpected benefit of letting more New York public employees see how their union dues are spent—and negating a major union’s recent move to escape federal oversight. Read More

Governor Cuomo says that controlling the cost of prescription drugs will be part of his agenda in 2020. Four bills currently awaiting his signature or veto give him a chance to get started on that promise in 2019. Read More