Overtime spending by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rose 11 percent in 2015, making it possible for hundreds of employees to double their pay, according to payroll records added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
Tim Hoefer talks about the need for transparency in public policy, especially as it relates to pork spending in the NYS budget. Read More
A bill devised by Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, sets new standards for the disclosure of state budget discretionary funds and how they will be spent. Read More
A recent report from the Empire Center shows the average New York state teacher who retired after working 30 years for the state's public schools collected an average of $67,476 per year in pension income, which is not subject to state income tax or federal payroll tax. These pension recipients are also eligible for Social Security and often have free or low- cost health insurance. Read More
New York has made a compact with police officers: Their incomes will be preserved for life in the event that they are disabled in the line of duty. Read More
Taxpayers continued shouldering costs for Sheldon Silver’s legal defense in the months after he stepped down as Assembly speaker, according to the latest Senate and Assembly expenditure data added to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Teachers, principals, superintendents and other public school employees in the Capital Region who retired last year with at least 30 years of service earned an average pension of $60,466, according to new data from the Empire Center. Read More
New York’s Legislature has been exempt from many provisions of the state Freedom of Information Law since FOIL was first enacted in 1974. The Assembly and Senate ultimately decide how much legislative information to make public. This makes about as much sense as putting Cookie Monster in charge of security at the Chips Ahoy factory. As a result, a lot of information on legislative matters ranging from individual employee timesheets to a billion-dollar slush fund has been concealed from taxpayers. But if Governor Cuomo has his way, that could soon change. Read More