At a time when Erie County Water Authority customers are paying more for water, a quick check of salaries shows some big paychecks for executives and management types. According to SeeThroughNY, a project that tracks state and local government spending including salaries, the Erie County Water Authority spent $16.8 million in salaries to some 289 workers in 2015. Read More
While a report benchmarking property taxes across the state recently released by the nonpartisan Albany think tank the Empire Center showed that the Mohawk Valley finished in the middle of the pack as a region with a median tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value of $31.75, the rates among individual municipalities differ greatly. Read More
"Start-Up New York is proof positive that taxes aren't the only thing that's hindering business in the state of New York. It's clearly something bigger," Empire Center Policy Analyst Ken Girardin. Read More
START-UP NY was supposed to create thousands of jobs throughout the state, costing you millions in tax dollars. But has it been worth your money so far? A new report shows the program has only created 408 new jobs. Read More
E.J. McMahon, president of the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy, said music producers and game developers are getting a "very sweet deal" by piggybacking on the film industry's lobbying. Much of the subsidized business was already here, he said. Read More
A job-creation program highly touted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration created just 408 new jobs in its first two full years, despite an advertising campaign that cost state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. Read More
This is the way the system works in New York. To get re-elected, New York lawmakers have to show voters they did something for their districts. Read More