Promoting better transparency and accountability in government is one of the Empire Center’s major, ongoing priorities. Read More
Tag: Government Reform
Gov. Cuomo’s operations chief yesterday was quick to blast the leadership of the Public Employees Federation for “failing to effectively communicate the benefits” of a tentative contract deal that PEF members voted overwhelmingly to reject. Read More
For all of Andrew Cuomo’s good intentions, Albany’s muck remains as deep as ever, with a projected 2010-11 state budget shortfall approaching $10 billion. But the fiscal quicksand needn’t swallow up the next Gov. Cuomo as it did the last one. Read More
New York State has a new law capping annual increases in local government and school district property taxes. Effective in local fiscal years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2012, the law limits the annual growth of property taxes levied by local governments and school districts to 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Read More
A $62 million initiative to promote job creation for unemployed inner-city youths was part of last week’s tax increase deal between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature. Read More
In the wake of the nation’s worst economic downturn since the 1930s, New York State’s counties, municipalities and school districts face intense budgetary pressure. To bring spending into line with tightly constrained revenues, especially under a newly imposed property tax cap, local governments need more than ever to control rising employee salary and benefit costs. Read More
Nearly one in six residents of New York State now receives food stamps, up from less than one in 10 just a few years ago. Read More
Reducing job opportunities for unskilled and part-time workers will be the No. 1 goal of the New York State Assembly this year, Speaker Sheldon Silver declared last week. Read More