Seizing on the hardships of young firefighters and cops who have received skimpy disability pensions after being forced into retirement by line-of-duty injuries, unions representing the Bravest and Finest are pushing to roll back hard-won pension reforms. Read More
The state Assembly has not released expenditure reports for a full year, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy. The reports included details of members per diem reimbursements. But the last one made public was for the period ending in March of 2014. The Empire Center's Executive Director, Tim Hoefer, joined us to discuss this lack-of-transparency issue. Read More
The Assembly paid $1.1 million to 130 members for costs related to “legislative duties” performed in Albany between April and September 2014, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center's transparency website. The data was released more than eight months after the end of the reporting period, an unusually long amount of time. Read More
State lawmakers have given a real boost to government transparency and the public's right to know by voting to speed up the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) process. Read More
Now we know why the unions fought so hard to keep it a secret: The Empire Center for Public Policy reports that FDNY pensions averaged $100,000 for new retirees these past seven years. Read More
Even with its former leader facing corruption charges, the state Assembly won’t disclose how its members are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, a government watchdog charged on Friday. Read More
The average FDNY firefighter retired with a pension of more than $100,000 over the last seven years, according to an analysis of pension data released Tuesday. Read More
Firefighters who retired last year are pulling in annual pensions averaging $100,636 because the majority left on disability and is collecting three-quarters of their final salaries, a watchdog group said Tuesday. Read More