Taxpayer-funded employer contributions to public pensions in New York State will rise by billions of dollars in the next few years, threatening to divert scarce resources from other essential public services in the midst of a fiscal crisis, according to a report issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The Empire Center for Public Policy today announced that it is appealing a recent court ruling that would block public release of the names of more than 44,000 retired police officers collecting benefits from the New York City Police Pension Fund. Read More
The New York City Council’s pork-barrel member-item spending for fiscal 2011 has been posted on SeeThroughNY.net, the transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The $54.4 million in discretionary member items represent projects City Council members sponsored for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Read More
New York’s Legislature should avoid adding any tax increases to the proposed 2011-12 state budget, E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for Public Policy testified today before the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committees. Read More
Mandate relief priorities to help local governments and school districts cope with failing revenues and a proposed tax cap were outlined today in state Senate testimony by E.J. McMahon, senior fellow at the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed cap on property taxes is justified in light of New York State’s exceptionally heavy property tax burden, according to a report released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The cost of financing long-term care (LTC) through Medicaid is on track to become “a crippling burden” for New York State unless steps are taken to reform the program, a report issued today by the Empire Center for Public Policy warns. Read More
New York’s State Legislature spent $114 million during the six-month period ending last September, according to the latest legislative expenditure data posted at SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. SeeThroughNY now includes four full years of legislative expenditures, in what has become the most extensive searchable database of its kind available to New Yorkers on the Internet. Read More