Look up your public employee friend’s salary
Posted on July 16th, 2008 – 2:13 PMBy Kara McGuire
The Star Tribune launched infoCenter today — a place where you can view salaries of select public employees as well as real estate transactions, homicide maps and other intriguing data.
The paper across the river also recently launched a salary database for public employees.
As one who is on the liberal side when it comes to sharing my personal financial data, the sites don’t bother me. But I imagine others, especially those who have their salaries listed, may feel uncomfortable.
How would you feel if your salary were listed for your friends and family to look up?
15 Responses to "Look up your public employee friend’s salary"
My name IS on there, and what I and many other state workers don’t understand is why print our FULL NAMES next to our salaries? I’m fine with people knowing what I make in the context of ‘Employee A of Dept._____ makes this amount, Employee B makes this amount, etc.,’ but to do it this way ensures nothing positive comes out of this story.
If you worked for a private company, and some disgruntled tech guy set up a website listing everyone’s salary, wouldn’t you look to see what your co-workers are making? Wouldn’t that cause jealousy and/or maybe a bit of resentment? Lower morale and/or productivity? Whether or not the ‘paper across the river’ realized this, they probably cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars or more printing this report in this manner.
The ‘paper across the river’ justified this as ‘public informaion,’ and I sure hope they post the names of people who have accepted welfare checks and social security checks, received unemployment, who are level 2 and higher sex offenders, and companies that have received government handouts only to be fair.
This paper’s database isn’t working for me, but I’m sure it’s just growing pains.
As somebody whose salary is listed on that site, I have really mixed feelings about it. I personally don’t care a whole lot about who knows what I make (I’m listed at around $22/hr on the site, which is about right), but it’s definitely causing a fair amount of discontent in my office. It’s as you might expect if salary data was suddenly available at any large organization.
I just don’t see the point of having it searchable by individual. Isn’t it more useful overall to know that my job classification that requires skills x, y, and z is paid $22-$36/hour thank knowing exactly how much I, MR, makes?
I tend to agree with the Pioneer Press — this is a function of transparency in government; government employees need to take the good with the bad — few layoffs and excellent benefits, in exchange for the drawbacks of stricter regulations and more public oversight.
The database is really messed up right now. Maybe should have kept it underwraps until the bugs are worked out.
Yup, I’m on there too, and overall I can’t really argue with their logic - as public employees, we are held to a higher standard and I believe transparency in government is good. (There’s too much cloak-n-dagger BS going on in gov’t over the last decade and that really bothers me.)
However, just because they COULD do something, doesn’t mean they SHOULD. Really, what value do we get from actually publishing names in there? And making it searchable by name? It’s just pure sensationalism and definitely can make things awkward at the office.
But then again, in a weird way, it makes me want to work harder. I am well-paid for a highly skilled job and I want to make sure that I am giving the taxpayers the best value for their dollar. I’ve always felt that way, but this is just another little reminder that we are beholden to the public. And it’s worth mentioning that the angle the P-Press is taking is that public employees aren’t paid WELL ENOUGH to recruit and retain! THAT’S not the argument you hear regularly from “across the river”…
So mixed feelings here too. I guess I just have to put my faith into the idea that more transparency leads to higher accountability - from the custodian to the governor.
I’m a public university employee in Iowa, and all our salaries–along with the salaries of State of Iowa employees–are published each year and available in searchable databases. Doesn’t bother me a bit to have people know what I make, but I have been bothered in the past when I’ve found out what my…um…”less motivated” colleagues were making a year.
Public employees data has ALWAYS been available, just not always easily searchable or published. I work at the U, and I feel like its almost better to know, to keep an eye on the going rate for employees in a similar position.
Don’t really care but then again I’m not a public employee.
But Jack, say private salaries were also listed. How would you personally feel?
It would not bother me because I do not make what I should be making commensurate with my educational level (M.A.) and work experience. Company that I work for is known for not paying well!
Besides most of my friends make 3-4 times more than I do…
If they’re going to list ALL privite salaries then it shouldn’t matter as that’s full disclosure but of course that’s not going to happen so not much point in spending time debating.
If what you’re really asking is should they publish individual salaries for all public employess I say why not as we the tax payers are footing the bill and every individual is an expense just like an office chair, computer, or the price for a new bridge so the tax payers should be able to see what their dollars are paying for.
I will say that I find the job titles more interesting than the salaries as I never saw so many assitant this and deputy thats or combinations of what I would think are traditional job titles as it appears that they didn’t want to promote someone to the next level so a new middle ground position was created to fit a salary need.
State Worker made my point exactly. If the idea is to inform the public about their tax dollars, then job title and salary is all that is needed. Searching by name is just up for gossip sake. I’m embarrased that soon family and friends will find out how little I make!
One more thought, Kara you mention that the site doesn’t bother you. Have you listed your salary publicly? Have you listed your spouses? Both my husband and I work for the government, so our family’s household income is public knowledge. Would you and your readers care to share yours (your full names and salaries)? If not, then maybe a little more sympathy is in order.
llp: My husband is a state worker and I started my first column in 2004 when I was writing freelance and working part-time at MPR as follows:
“I make $43,200 and change, give or take my latest harebrained moneymaking scheme. I owe $17,000 in student loans. Then there’s the mortgage and home-equity line of credit on the fixer-upper that my husband and I call “The Monster of the Midway” (and not because it’s big). Assets? There’s my Roth IRA, 403(b) and some savings bonds.
Why am I telling you this? Because if you’re like most people I know, the question would cross your mind when you read this column, so I figured I might as well get it out of the way.”
This information has always been available to the public but never this easy to access. The complaints I hear sound a lot like those when Hennipen County first published property tax values online.
Is there a public sector employee who didn’t know this was public info? In some ways they should be grateful that they don’t also have access to pension and all the other benefits that exist in the public sector but not in the private. Then again we each make our choice where to work and take the good with the bad as no one makes us stay in our current job.
