Just over two years ago, New York State enacted what then-Gov. David A. Paterson presented to the world as "landmark pension reform." In his 2012-13 budget proposal this week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo raised the subject of pension reform all over again. Why? Because Paterson's bill was a "landmark" only in the annals of Albany political hyperbole. Read More
This just in: Governor Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget has been posted online, and it does, indeed, include a 401(1)k-style defined-contribution (DC) retirement plan option. Read More
Governor Cuomo’s 2012-13 budget, to be presented later today, will command media attention for the rest of the week. Advance reports on his modified pension reform proposal are especially promising. Meanwhile, there’s a (fiscally) cost-free approach to helping local governments and school districts alleviate their budget problems: repealing the Triborough Amendment. Read More
In tough economic times, New York State’s counties, municipalities and school districts face intense pressure to control their budgets. Read More
Mayor Bloomberg's latest ed-reform plan has attention. To get the teachers' union to support merit pay, Bloomberg proposes to give teachers a salary hike of $20,000 if they prove "highly effective" for two years in a row under a new teacher-eval Read More
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has joined Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in advocating an increase in the state minimum wage. Unlike Silver, Bloomberg in his State of the City message was at least willing to acknowledge that the minimum wage discourages hiring–specifically, that it “can reduce youth employment.” His solution? Read More
Reducing job opportunities for unskilled and part-time workers will be the No. 1 goal of the New York State Assembly this year, Speaker Sheldon Silver declared last week. Read More
Nearly one in six residents of New York State now receives food stamps, up from less than one in 10 just a few years ago. Read More
Let's make a deal - you give me $650 today, and five years from now I'll give you $10,000 back. That incredible return on investment is what some forward-thinking federal agencies are taxpayers, according to the National Archives and Records Admin Read More
In the wake of the nation’s worst economic downturn since the 1930s, New York State’s counties, municipalities and school districts face intense budgetary pressure. To bring spending into line with tightly constrained revenues, especially under a newly imposed property tax cap, local governments need more than ever to control rising employee salary and benefit costs. Read More
The MTA prefers to bargain in secret, but the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 has a list of what it says are the MTA's demands for the next three-year contract for New York City subway and bus workers. The current contract expires next Sunday Read More
In a just-completed radio interview, Governor Andrew Cuomo talked a little more about his State of the State announcement last week concerning a proposed new convention center at Aqueduct Raceway in Queens. But Cuomo’s answers raised a few other questions. Read More