Fiscal watchdogs note many elected officials initially didn't have to worry about pension costs a decade ago. Now the rates are closely watched for what they could mean for property tax bills. "Pretty much the entire generation of state and local elected officials took office and came into their own during a period when pension costs were artificially low or rock bottom," said Empire Center President EJ McMahon. Read More
Hizzoner cooked up something nice for his entire staff. Mayor de Blasio doled out raises to 358 of 360 staffers in fiscal year 2016. That came to a total of $2 million, which included a generous $13,000 raise to the executive chef at Gracie Mansion, who now earns $115,000. Data compiled by the Empire Center also show 56 City Hall staffers — including 35 who got new job titles — received raises of more than 20%. Read More
E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, a fiscally-conservative think tank, said the USC studies add "significant new evidence to the already large amounts of evidence that this policy is not defensible." Read More
E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center for Public Policy, said such a plan would be a double-whammy for taxpayers who would be on the hook for funding the tax credit and helping cover higher wages for workers. Read More
E.J. McMahon joined Liz Benjamin on "Capital Tonight" to discuss the upstate economy and why the state's current policies aren't turning things around. Read More
"This is nothing but good news for taxpayers. The cap is based on the sensible notion that the price of government shouldn't rise any faster than prices in general," E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center said in an email. Read More
Whereas NYSUT can negotiate lower benefits for its own employees, McMahon said "School districts don't have that choice. In fact, they have to keep giving raises to people." Read More
The Empire Center, an Albany-based think tank, has probed the state for SAM grant information since last year and compiled a searchable database of 915 grants totaling $286 million. After adding its latest trove, the organization lambasted officials in May for spending borrowed money on "local political interests instead of state needs," listing $300,000 in grants for skateboard parks in Newburgh and two other places as one of its examples. Read More