The state Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Empire Center for Public Policy have reached an out-of-court settlement in which the MTA acknowledges its failure to respond “in a timely manner” to the Center’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.
The MTA agreed to pay the legal costs and fees incurred by the Empire Center when the Center sued the agency to obtain 2014 payroll records. The payroll data are posted and updated annually at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
“This settlement is another big win for the public’s right to know how their money is spent,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “It sends a clear message to every New York government agency that no one is above the law, and that agencies must respond to FOIL requests in a timely manner.”
The Empire Center is a non-partisan, non-profit independent think tank based in Albany.
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