New York's huge budget deficit—$15.4 billion in the next 15 months—will force difficult choices in terms of government services and tax policies for years to come. To engage intelligently in that debate, New Yorkers need far more information than we now receive from Albany. Read More
Delivered to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee Read More
As a former journalist and now as analyst for the Empire Center for Public Policy, I am pleased the Senate is considering a package of bills to expand the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meeting Law. Read More
New York’s complete state government payroll for 2008 was posted today on www.SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The searchable payroll database includes names, titles, base pay rates and total pay received by the 367,732 people who worked in the state’s executive, legislative or judicial branches at any point last year. Read More
The often opaque world of school finances has become more transparent with a new tool that allows New Yorkers to analyze how their school districts spend money and to compare them to nearly 700 other districts around the state. Read More
Complete payrolls for four school districts, updated teacher union and school superintendent contracts, and a new interactive user forum have been added today to SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
A searchable online database including salaries of 255,959 teachers and administrators employed by New York State’s public schools and colleges during the 2007-08 school year was posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the government transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
The Empire Center today marked the first anniversary of its government transparency web site, SeeThroughNY.net, with the posting of $148.3 million in legislative pork barrel member items for 2009-10. The online database, which also includes $148.1 million in member items for 2008-09, is searchable by legislator, locality and recipient. Read More