Tag: Transparency

Municipalities are not required by law to maintain websites. They come with a cost, they need to be maintained and they require a certain amount of in-house computer savvy to keep current. Nevertheless, good websites should be part of every municipal package because their value to taxpayers is well worth the effort. Several area municipalities took that seriously after receiving a failing grade last November when the Empire Center for Public Policy released a SeeThroughNY Website Report Card on municipal websites. The center examined 500 websites for contact information, spending date, labor contracts and public meeting records, and the ease of locating those items, and graded them accordingly. Read More

In a ruling that favored the Empire Center's position, a state Supreme Court justice in Brooklyn today ordered the New York City Fire Pension Fund to release the names as well as pension amounts of its retirees. Read More

If you want to have a grim sort of fun, go to the Empire Center online and take a look at the Spend-O-Meter, which keeps track of New York’s spending, according to the 2015-16 budget, in real time. The first thing you notice are the dollars spinning like pinwheels. Read More

In the digital age, government should be more open than ever. Unfortunately, it isn't. Read More

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

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