A Ramapo town police officer who collected $323,562 was New York State’s highest paid local government employee outside New York City during the 12 months ending March 31, according to the 2018 edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual analysis of local government pay. Read More
Following several ignored Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for its teacher and superintendent contracts, the Empire Center for Public Policy today will file a lawsuit against Malverne Union Free School District in Nassau County on Long Island. Read More
Yonkers had the most debt and highest taxes among the five largest cities outside of New York City last year, while White Plains charged the most fines, a report released Wednesday said. The “Benchmarking New York” report from the Empire Center compared taxes, spending and debt for municipalities across New York based on data from the state Comptroller's Office. Read More
The Empire Center's annual “Benchmarking New York” report compares and ranks government tax, spending and debt levels for hundreds of counties, towns, cities and villages throughout New York. Read More
Which upstate New York communities have the highest police pay by local and regional standards? The answer can be found in What They Make, the Empire Center’s annual examination of local government payrolls, which includes average total pay for uniformed police officers employed by 166 towns, cities and villages across upstate. Read More
The 2015-16 edition of What They Make, the Empire Center’s annual report on public payrolls, New York taxpayers to compare this key element of local government costs around the state. Read More
The Empire Center today released the newest edition of What They Make, its annual examination of local government payrolls. “What They Make lets taxpayers see how their local governments’ payrolls stack up,” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “Big differences exist, even between neighboring communities, and taxpayers have a right to ask their elected officials why.” Read More
Three years ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo blew a rare opportunity to fundamentally reform one of the most costly provisions of the New York State law regulating public-sector collective bargaining. Now he's about to blow it again. Read More