Back in 2011, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was trying to justify the schedule of hefty annual toll increases it was seeking, the authority claimed initially that the additional revenue the increases would bring was needed to pay for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and other important capital projects. The increases were approved by the governors of New York and New Jersey largely on that basis. Read More
The New York State Senate spent $332,419 over a six-month period on offices vacated by two senators who had resigned, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Good news to cap off Sunshine Week: at least some local government and school officials are working to make their websites more useful and informative. Read More
Schenectady residents, you’re not imagining it. Your taxes really are high. Read More
Adjournments and stipulations churned mechanically as acting Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Peter Sweeney plowed through his 87-case calendar Monday — until a preposterous lawsuit caught his attention. Read More
Everyone knows the Port Authority is a mammoth, money-sucking agency. But a new listing of some PA salaries gives a taste of where that money goes. As The Empire Center reports, 10 members of the PA Police Department got paid more than $300,000 last year. Top earner Lt. Nicholas Yum took in $402,812. Twelve PA cops pulled in more than the $289,667 salary of PA Executive Director Pat Foye. Read More
The average tax rate across the Capital Region is lower than average, but a few municipalities stray from the average rate of $24.68 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed values. Schenectady has the highest effective tax rate in 2013, $43.58, according to a recently released report by the Empire Center for Public Policy, an independent research organization in Albany. A home valued at $160,250 would have paid $6,984 in taxes. Read More
Orleans County continues to be among the highest taxed counties in New York, with Medina leading the way with a combined tax rate of more than triple that of some other Finger Lakes-region counties. Read More