Much of our attention will no doubt be focused on the same general issues that preoccupied us in 2015 — issues such as the economy, taxes, government wages and pensions, population shifts and pork barrel spending.
And so, with best wishes to all for a Happy New Year, here’s a last look back at the Empire Center’s web traffic highlights for the year just ended — including updates to our popular government transparency website, SeeThroughNY.net.
The 5 most popular EmpireCenter.org pages in 2015:
Higher Pay, Fewer Jobs – Video features and articles explaining what’s at stake for New York in the proposal to jack up the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The Empire Center’s Pension Calculator – We’ve made it simple to estimate the retirement income for a state and local government worker and to see what it would cost a private-sector worker to buy an equivalent annuity in the open market.
What They Make—2015 Edition – The Empire Center’s unique annual compendium of average pay for every county, city, town and village government in New York State.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, ALBANY, N.Y. — New York households’ estimated annual electricity bills rose by $275, or 11 percent. This was the third-largest dollar increase among the 50 states, behind only Hawaii and New Ham Read More
October 2026
Summary and Insights
Electricity. In July 2026, New York had the nation’s fifth-highest residential electricity price at 29.90 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), 63.3 percent above the U.S. average. Prices i Read More
The following guest contribution was written by Brad Wenstrup, a former U.S. Congressman, doctor of podiatric medicine, combat surgeon, and chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic during the 118th Congress.
Senate Read More
Lewis County employees held nine of the North Country's ten highest-paid local government positions in fiscal year 2025-26, most of them physicians and medical staff, . Jeffery Hellinger, a Lewis County employee, was the highest paid, at $265,978.
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Eight local government employees in the Mohawk Valley had gross pensionable earnings of more than $200,000 in fiscal year 2025-26, . Four were county elected officials and three were Oneida County correction officers. The highest paid was Christina Pea Read More
Mary Nobilski, a Steuben County employee, was the Southern Tier's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $309,582, . She was the only local employee in the region paid more than Governor Hochul's $250,000 salary.
Stat Read More
Syracuse police officers held all ten of the highest-paid local government positions in Central New York during fiscal year 2025-26, . John Tassini was the highest paid, at $282,861.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees of New York's counties, citi Read More
Rochester police officers held eight of the ten highest-paid local government positions in the Finger Lakes region during fiscal year 2025-26, . Robert Hill was the region's highest-paid employee, at $314,040.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees o Read More