Oneida County paid its 1,825 employees an average of $41,795, more than the other five counties in the region, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report.
The report uses pay data reported to the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. The amounts listed in the report do not include fringe benefits such as health insurance or employer pension contributions, which can add 35 percent or more to the cost for taxpayers.
Users can search the 175,327 pay records of town, city, county and village employees on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The Mohawk Valley data also show:
Utica’s 275 uniformed police and fire employees had the highest pay among the region’s uniformed employees, averaging $71,560.
Nicholas F. Laino, president of Herkimer County Community College, was the highest paid local government employee. Laino was paid $181,341.
New Hartford’s 25 police officers were paid an average of $68,086, the most of any town police department in the region.
The ten highest-paid local government employees in the Mohawk Valley (Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida and Schoharie Counties) were:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s payroll surpassed $8 billion in 2024 – a 2.6 percent increase since 2023, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Overtime, as measured using payroll records, totaled $ Read More
Spending by state lawmakers on office personnel and administrative costs varies widely, with some paying out nearly twice as much as others on their office operations, according to the most recent reported, posted to SeeThroughNY.net.
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Albany steered over $226 million in grant awards to 581 local projects between June 2024 and April 2025 through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), according to the Empire Center recently received und Read More
New York’s two teacher pension systems last year had 26 retirees eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Data reported from Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of Read More
School districts presenting budgets to voters on Tuesday, May 20, plan to spend an average of $35,012 per student, up 4.6 percent from the current school year, according to new state data.
Data collected by the state Education Departme Read More
New York’s of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police, firefighters, libraries, and public authorities.
Among the on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center Read More
As Governor Hochul and legislative leaders belatedly released details of their agreement on a state budget for fiscal year 2026, the Empire Center released a statement from its Senior Fellow for Health Policy, Bill Hammond: Read More
The number of school district employees receiving a total compensation of more than $200,000 have more than doubled since 2019, according to posted today at , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The public educator pay data are based on Fiscal Ye Read More