Pensions for government retirees have been public information in New York since forever, but for nearly a decade, the Empire Center for Public Policy has been trying to collect and publish names and dollar figures on its SeeThroughNY.net website — only to be stymied by the pension funds.
The first to refuse, in 2009, was the city’s police pension fund. The other funds followed that bad lead, forcing the Empire Center to fight through the courts.
Each and every time, after long legal fights, judges ruled the right way. Transparency has prevailed: with teachers (in 2014), firefighters (in 2015) and correction officers (in 2016). The police pension fund, is the lone remaining holdout. Rather than fighting in court, they should read the writing on the wall and give it up.
As shown by repeated Daily News exposés of ex-cops out on enhanced disability pensions who are running marathons, seeing who pockets what can help root out corruption. It’s also a matter of principle: The people have a right to know how billions of dollars of public money are being spent. Period.
You may also like
Comptroller warns of financial distress at the MTA, and the MTA goes on a hiring spree
According to Ken Girardin, a labor analyst at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy, every new police officer will cost the MTA roughly $56,000, which means the new personnel would initially cost the MTA roughly $28 million a year.
Those costs should rapidly increase over time, as police salaries rapidly increase. Read More
TOP SALARIES IN WESTCHESTER FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
One of the great government watchdogs in New York State is the Empire Center for Public Policy, led by EJ McMahon. The Empire Center recently came out with its annual report on overtime costs and the highest earning public servants in NYS. Read More
Genesee Community College president tops pay list in Finger Lakes
ALBANY — Genesee Community College President Dr. James Sunser was the highest-paid municipal government worker in the Finger Lakes region, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government pay. Read More
These Dutchess City, Town Workers Are Among Highest Paid In Upstate NY
Citing data from the New York State and Local Retirement System based on regular, overtime pay and unused vacation time, Empire Center’s 2018 “ What They Make ” report determined which town, city, and village employees are getting paid the most. Read More
SUNY Prez Top Paid Government Worker In Warren Co.
A Schenectady County employee was the Capital Region’s highest-paid municipal government worker during the state’s 2019 fiscal year, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government pay. Read More
Top-paid public-sector workers in region are mostly in Schenectady County
Seven of the 10 highest-paid municipal employees in the eight-county Capital Region worked for Schenectady County, the Empire Center for Public Policy noted.
While the individual salary numbers have been previously reported for the seven men — a child protective services caseworker, a doctor, a lawyer, three law enforcement officers and an economic developer — the report released Wednesday ranks them in comparison to the other counties outside New York City. Read More
Delaware psychiatrist tops Southern Tier public salaries
A Delaware County employee was named the highest-paid in the Southern Tier, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the Empire Center for Public Policy, an Albany-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. Read More
EDITORIAL: FOILed by a judge: Manhattan jurist Melissa Crane must speed it up on making police pensions public
Long ago the Empire Center for Public Policy asked the NYPD Pension Fund for the names of retirees and how much each is paid, to add the data to its indispensable database on how New York taxpayer dollars are spent. Read More