Payroll data for 74,660 public authority employees, totaling $4.4 billion, have been added to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The new data cover 301 employers, including industrial development agencies (IDAs), regional transportation authorities and sewer and water authorities. They include the:
- New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (45,879 employees)
- New York State Thruway Authority (3,754 employees)
- Urban Development Corp. (Empire State Development) (351 employees)
- NY Power Authority (NYPA) (2,327 employees)
- Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) (1,734 employees)
- NYS Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) (326 employees)
The payroll data reflect pay received during the employer’s fiscal year ending in 2017. Previous updates include the FY2017 payrolls from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
Some individuals appear twice in the SeeThroughNY database because they perform work for both a public authority, such as a local IDA, and a state or local government agency. These individuals may receive compensation from only one or both employers.
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit think tank dedicated to promoting policies to make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.
You may also like
What They Make 2026: North Country
Lewis County employees held nine of the North Country's ten highest-paid local government positions in fiscal year 2025-26, most of them physicians and medical staff, . Jeffery Hellinger, a Lewis County employee, was the highest paid, at $265,978.
Read More
What They Make 2026: Mohawk Valley
Eight local government employees in the Mohawk Valley had gross pensionable earnings of more than $200,000 in fiscal year 2025-26, . Four were county elected officials and three were Oneida County correction officers. The highest paid was Christina Pea Read More
What They Make 2026: Southern Tier
Mary Nobilski, a Steuben County employee, was the Southern Tier's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $309,582, . She was the only local employee in the region paid more than Governor Hochul's $250,000 salary.
Stat Read More
What They Make 2026: Central New York
Syracuse police officers held all ten of the highest-paid local government positions in Central New York during fiscal year 2025-26, . John Tassini was the highest paid, at $282,861.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees of New York's counties, citi Read More
What They Make 2026: Finger Lakes
Rochester police officers held eight of the ten highest-paid local government positions in the Finger Lakes region during fiscal year 2025-26, . Robert Hill was the region's highest-paid employee, at $314,040.
Statewide, the 179,222 employees o Read More
What They Make 2026: Western New York
Erie County deputy sheriff Simon Biegasiewicz was Western New York's highest-paid local government employee in fiscal year 2025-26, at $305,077, followed by Buffalo firefighter Daniel Bossi at $300,488, . They were the only two local employees in the r Read More
What They Make 2026: Long Island
Long Island accounted for 350 of the 400 local government employees in New York outside New York City who were paid more than $300,000 in fiscal year 2025-26, . Police officers held all ten of the region's highest-paid positions.
Statewide, the Read More
What They Make 2026: 400 Local Government Employees Paid More Than $300,000
A total of 400 local government employees in New York outside New York City were paid more than $300,000 during fiscal year 2025-26, the large majority of them police officers on Long Island, according to the Empire Center's annual report, based on pa Read More