"Overtime is an unavoidable cost for virtually any business or government agency, but those costs are an indicator of how efficiently an organization is run," said Tim Hoefer, the executive director of Empire Center. "For Metro-North, the continued growth of those costs gives taxpayers and riders a good reason to question whether they’re getting the most for their money." Read More
Eight employees of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) were paid more than $200,000 in overtime last year, part of a general surge in MTA overtime in 2016, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
A total of 270 new police, fire, teacher and superintendent contracts were uploaded today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
State lawmakers spent $7 million on postage for bulk mailings to constituents between April 1 and September 30, 2016, according to data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. 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
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