Those findings were based on data compiled and supplied by the Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany, which gathers and adds tax rates for every county, municipality and school district to show the combined toll of school and government taxes for any place in the state, adjusted to smooth differences in assessment levels and allow comparisons. Read More
But an Empire Center for Public Policy study estimated that the state's prevailing wage mandate would drive up the cost of publicly funded projects by at least 20 percent in the Buffalo area, compared to median private-sector construction wages. The study estimated the mandate led to increases of anywhere from 13 percent to 25 percent in the state, depending on the region. Read More
An April report from the Empire Center for Public Policy highlighted a 16% surge last year in overtime costs at the MTA — where the $418 million payroll cost in 2018 was $82 million more than what the authority expects to take in from the last fare and toll increases. Read More
The agency’s overall payroll grew by a whopping $418 million in 2018, according to a report published last month by the watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy. Some LIRR workers made more than $300,000 a year in overtime alone. Read More
Late last month, the Empire Center in Albany found that MTA overtime costs swelled by nearly 16% last year, or $418 million. Though every unit played a part, the Long Island Rail Road was worst by a country mile. OT there shot up 30%, to $224 million. Fifty-eight of the MTA’s 100 highest-paid employees, including the top four, worked at the LIRR. How much did some hourly employees earn, after all was said and done? $461,646, $395,397 and $380,407, driving up their pensions in the bargain. Read More
The Post began spotlighting these abuses, particularly at the LIRR, after the Empire Center reported that OT costs there spiked 30 percent last year — with some employees pulling down hundreds of thousands in extra-hours pay. Read More
The report, released by the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank in Albany, found the effective tax rate for each region of the state. Calculating tax rates can be tricky, particularly in New York, where property owners face various taxes from multiple jurisdictions, including counties, towns and cities, as well as schools. Read More
The LIRR racked up $225 million in OT last year, according to the Empire Center — consuming nearly a third of the $740 million in fares Long Island commuters pay. Put another way, without this burden, the average commuter riding from Huntington to Penn Station every day could pay $253, not $363. Read More