What’s to hide? Post salaries
If there is nothing to hide, then public agencies in San Benito
County and elsewhere should have no issues with the posting of
employee compensation information on their websites.
What’s to hide? Post salaries
If there is nothing to hide, then public agencies in San Benito County and elsewhere should have no issues with the posting of employee compensation information on their websites.
In light of the compensation scandal in Bell, where several top officials made exorbitant salaries and benefits behind the backs of their constituents, more and more attention has turned toward improving access to public employee salaries and pension figures that have escalated to levels that are incomparable to jobs in the private sector, otherwise known as the real world.
It is not to say that every public employee’s salary and benefits are excessive. Many workers in the government sector more than earn their salaries and remain dedicated to serving residents. Giving the fullest possible access possible to the public, however, would provide a safety net, an insurance policy of sorts, to prevent government officials from taking advantage of citizens who often have little time to pick up the kids, let alone research public employee salaries through an unnecessarily tedious, paper-pushing process.
That is why Hollister, San Benito County and various other public agencies, including school districts, would better serve their constituents by following through on the crux of democracy that is so often neglected – giving us, the taxpayers who pay the bills, the fullest possible access to details of our investment.
That means posting salaries and all other special compensation – down to the penny – of every employee on the payroll.
Opponents of such moves have argued that it would violate the privacy of workers. Posting names and pay on the websites – reminder, it’s 2010 – would improve merely the means of accessibility for someone who is interested in the information. It would not in itself make the compensation details open for access.
As the law already stands, residents can walk down to Hollister City Hall or the County Administration Building and request – and by law, they must receive – the same details. So what is the point with sticking to an antiquated system that does nothing more than discourage residents from getting their hands on public records?
Public employee compensation makes up about 80 percent to 85 percent of general costs for government agencies. Posting the information would go a long way toward giving the public what it is intended to have – full access.
Morgan Hill has taken the lead in the area by moving to post all employees’ compensation on its website. It’s a bold, courageous step, but it also is not enough. As Morgan Hill’s city manager pointed out, the detailed compensation figures are distinct from the actual cost to the taxpayers. That leaves a big hole and an ambiguity that clouds the thrust of its effort. Even that city can go further in doing its duty.
The bottom line is that when you work for the public, you work for each and every resident within the community. Residents own the city. They own the county. They own the school districts. And they own the pens that bureaucrats use to sign the checks.
They’re entitled to get a comprehensive report on all forms of compensation, immediate or deferred. They’re entitled to the best access possible.
