State Budget

BY E.J. McMAHON The final set of pre-pandemic U.S. Census population data for cities, towns and villages provides localized details on a familiar New York pattern: widespread decline upstate, and a few small pockets of growth amid the general stagnation

BY E.J. McMAHON On April 2, with New York’s COVID-19 curve still rising ominously, state lawmakers wrapped up a budget almost unchanged from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pre-pandemic January proposal. With the economy in a coma and revenues crashing, the plan obviously was

New York’s governor and state lawmakers dished out $152 million for local projects favored by state lawmakers through the state Dormitory Authority during the state’s 2020 fiscal year, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. The

Payroll for Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) in the calendar year 2019 increased by more than $150 million, according to data released today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Payroll at Port Authority totaled more

The number of New York public-sector early retirees allowed to collect both a state or local government paycheck and a full public pension benefit grew by over 4 percent from July 2018 to July 2019, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the

BY E.J. McMAHON The Cuomo administration has admitted there is a “structural imbalance” in its massive Medicaid budget, which means the Empire State’s biggest single government program is spending beyond its means. So, what does Gov. Andrew Cuomo plan to

New York’s most comprehensive online database of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police and firefighters. Among the 211 new local government and school district employment contracts on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website, are

BY DAVID DIPIETRO So here we are everyone, the end of the 2019 calendar year and we’re getting ready for the holidays. Setting up decorations, meeting with loved ones and buying presents, and boy have we got one monster of

BY CAITLIN GILLIGAN The number of state and local government early retirees collecting both a paycheck and public pension grew by 10 percent last year, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The increase was largely driven by

The latest payroll data for a total of 13,615 employees at 54 different New York State public authorities was posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Among public authorities closest to the governor’s office, the New York State Energy Research and Development

A town police chief in Rockland County was New York State’s highest-paid municipal employee outside New York City during the state’s 2019 fiscal year, according to the latest edition of “What They Make,” the Empire Center’s annual report summarizing total local government

Payroll data for 73,884 public authority employees, totaling almost $4.5 billion, have been added to SeeThroughNY. The new data come from 298 employers and include: New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (43,436 employees) New York State Thruway Authority (3,952 employees) Urban Development

Overtime payments jumped nearly 16 percent last year at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), fueling agency-wide average pay hikes of 6 percent, according to newly posted payroll records at SeeThroughNY.net. The increase in MTA payroll costs for 2018 alone was $418 million—$82

BY EJ MCMAHON The impending enactment of a permanent property tax levy cap in New York is a truly historic moment. Since its founding in 2005, the Empire Center has identified a broad cap on property tax levies as a