Tag: Local Government

Colonie's 106 town police officers were the highest-paid group of local government employees in the Capital Region last year, averaging $94,810, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More

A Wayne County doctor was the highest-paid local government employee in the Finger Lakes region last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Dr. Harlan Kosson, who county records indicate is paid $130 per hour for psychiatric services, was paid a total of $266,110. Read More

Long Island police officers dominated the list of highest-paid local government employees outside New York City in 2014, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Thirty-one of the 50 highest-paid local government employees were police officers on Long Island, including 24 Nassau County police officers. Read More

Local government is a labor-intensive business, and employee compensation is the single biggest element of most municipal budgets. The 2014-15 edition of What They Make, the Empire Center’s annual report on public payrolls, allows New York taxpayers to compare this key element of local government costs around the state. Read More

There is plenty of room for improvement across Upstate New York when it comes to the online services local governments provide. When the Empire Center for Public Policy issued its SeeThroughNY Local Government Website Report Card a year ago, Utica, Syracuse, Albany and Buffalo all received Fs, while Rochester fared only slightly better with a D. Read More

Long Island town officials are crying the blues over the budgetary squeeze supposedly created by the state’s property-tax cap. They’re not alone: You’ll hear much the same from town pols elsewhere in the metro region and across New York state. But the thrust of their complaints — that the tax cap is somehow blocking urgent public projects and programs — just won’t hold water. Read More