A proposal to mandate the use of biodiesel in home heating oil in New York would raise consumer costs while reducing overall energy efficiency, according to a report jointly released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy and the Manhattan Institute. Read More
Per-pupil spending in the 669 school districts outside New York’s five largest cities will climb next year by 2.5 percent, nearly twice the projected inflation rate, according to an analysis released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The analysis indicates that school districts' per-pupil property tax levies will increase by 2.1 percent in 2015-16. Read More
In a ruling that favored the Empire Center's position, a state Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn today ordered the New York City Fire Pension Fund to release the names as well as pension amounts of its retirees. Read More
New York’s $142 billion budget, enacted on April 1, authorizes the state to spend $4,503 per second during its 2015-16 fiscal year, according to the Empire Center’s updated Spend-O-Meter. Read More
The New York State Senate spent $332,419 over a six-month period on offices vacated by two senators who had resigned, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Binghamton had the highest effective property tax rate of any city in New York as of 2013, according to the Empire Center’s latest annual Benchmarking NY report. Read More
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employed the three highest-paid police officers in New York State during 2014, new data show. Read More
The number of retirees eligible for six-figure pensions from New York’s two teacher retirement systems nearly tripled between 2009 and 2014, according to new pension data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net. Read More