We are in the midst of our annual “transparency” project that entails using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the salaries and fringe benefits of those in our community who are paid with public funds.
Last week we published the Belleville Area District Library and Keystone Charter Academy listings. They were the first to respond to our Jan. 10 FOIA request. This week we have the huge list from the Van Buren Public Schools. Next week is Van Buren Charter Township.
As soon as we get responses from Sumpter Township and the City of Belleville, those too will be printed.
At the end of the transparency series last year we received several criticisms, saying we should have included those at the 34th District Court and so this year we sent a FOIA off to them, as well. On Saturday we received a terse reply stating they were exempt from FOIA.
When we get the documents from the municipalities, schools, and library, all thankfully in digital format so far, we send them off to Diane Madigan, who moved out of state last year, but still volunteers her computer skills to help spread transparency in our community.
Although the employees paid with public funds usually don’t like to be listed in the newspaper and get grumpy with us, we think it is the right thing to do. We pay their salaries and we should know what the numbers are.
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I agree with the right to be able to obtain the information, but what is the purpose of a yearly publish. Is the Independent comparing this information to salaries of fellow citizens who work in similar positions in the private sector to inform the public of differences? Just publishing what our neighbors who work for a few schools and libraries are earning each year seems to be incomplete reporting.