It's Your Money
J. Todd FosterBristol Herald Courier
Gathering local government salaries from across Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee was not only an arduous exercise of fiscal oversight for this newspaper, but also showed that localities routinely fail to follow open records laws.
The Bristol Herald Courier set out more than a year ago to collect salary data from what ended up being 65 local jurisdictions funded by taxpayers.
The newspaper’s response: Johnson City needed to file its own FOIA requests with the other 64 jurisdictions.
Gibson said there are an estimated 250 known exemptions to Tennessee’s Public Records Act, including some public employee personnel information.
“Fortunately, salary information is not confidential, though some object to it being released,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Payroll information has been used to expose cases where employees were overpaid unrealistic sums for overtime and situations where public employees earn below the poverty line.”
Tazewell plays hardball
One of the last holdouts was the town of Tazewell, Va., population 4,400.
Town Manager Jerry Wood, who is paid $72,000 a year, denied the newspaper’s FOIA on Oct. 2. Wood said he was relying on the advice of the town attorney, who he said was backed by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
VCOG said the opposite.
“Are we required to list the names of employees with their salaries to the newspaper?” Wood wrote Oct. 2 to the coalition, which advises citizens and government officials on Virginia’s open records law.
“I am willing to send salaries and positions, but employees do not want names released,” Wood wrote.
The answer back: “As for the actual question being asked, the answer is YES, the town is required to turn over the names and salaries of public employees who make $10,000 or more,” responded the coalition’s Megan Rhyne. “ ... [T]he rates of those employees who make $10,000 or more must be released. There is NO exception for redacting names or anything else. If the record exists, then it must be turned over to anyone in Virginia (or who operates a business in Virginia) who asks for it,” Rhyne responded.
The law requires FOIA responses in Virginia within five days.
When another locality posed a similar question about public salaries in May 2001 to the Virginia Freedom of Inormation Advisory Council, here’s how Executive Director Maria Everett responded.
“Information concerning the name, position, and salaries of employees, however, is a matter of public record and may not be withheld,” Everett wrote.
On Oct. 5, Wood authorized the Tazewell town clerk to release the requested records to the newspaper but concluded: “After much consultation with our attorney, he is of the opinion that we do not have to send names of employees with their salaries to the Bristol Herald Courier. While I agree with his opinion, we feel that as Clerk/Treasurer, you may at your discretion, release these records.”
After the town of Tazewell finally released the information, Wood said in a telephone interview: “I was just relying on advice of counsel. What would you do?”
How others responded
Many of the towns in Southwest Virginia – Glade Spring was a notable exception – required multiple phone calls and written requests for the information.
“In many cases, it took constant pestering,” said Herald Courier reporter Debra McCown. “Some of them, when they finally would hear the request, insisted that it be in writing, starting another round of hoops to jump through.”
Glade Spring, however, gave McCown the information over the phone at the first call.
“Rural Retreat was friendly and professional and e-mailed the information the day after I called,” McCown said.
Here’s how other jurisdictions responded to our FOIA:
Bristol Virginia Utilities threatened to pull its advertising from the newspaper if we published the salary information.
Bristol Tennessee City Schools complied, but Director of Schools Steve Dixon wrote a reporter: “I have a suggestion. If what we are wanting is a dynamite read (while sharing info with the public), let’s include the ame data about all Media General employees.”
Media General is a Richmond-based company whose newspapers, which include the Herald Courier, are not funded in any way through tax dollars.
“Wouldn’t it be nice for the BHC readers to not only be able to compare public employees but also see how that relates to private business?” Dixon wrote the newspaper.
The town of Cleveland, in Russell County, Va., responded that the information request would have to go before the Town Council, but backed down from the stipulation.
Clinchco, in Dickenson County, Va., initially claimed that releasing the name and salary of the town’s only employee who earned more than $10,000 had to go before the Town Council. It reneged, too.
Two towns, one county and one school system charged the newspaper fees ranging from $4.04 (Bluefield) to $37.00 (Buchanan County) before complying.
Washington County, Va., released the data in November 2006, but refused to release it again this year after several of its employees received huge pay raises, including the county administrator, who got a $20,000 pay hike.
Washington County then provided names and salaries separately, but would not match one with the other. County Attorney Lucy Phillips defended the move, saying, “The law does not require us to create a new document.”
Yet, Washington County released the same data the year before. Ultimately, the county turned over the completely updated information last month.
The town of Nickelsville, Va., has only two employees whose salaries are subject to disclosure. But it took a month to get the information.
In mid-July, reporter McCown called Nickelsville Mayor George Isaacs and left a message. She was told to call back on July 27, then called again on Aug. 9 and left another message.
“On Aug. 13, I tried again and finally talked to someone, who said the records are locked up and I’d need to talk to the mayor,” McCown said.
She called the number given for the mayor and a woman who answered said to call the water plant and gave out another phone number. “That was a fax machine,” McCown said. “I called the town hall again; this time they took my name and number. On Aug. 14, the mayor left me a voice mail in response to a month worth of messages and attempts to reach him; however, I was unable to immediately get back in touch. On Aug. 23, I finally got the mayor on the phone, and he gave me the information over the phone.”
J. TODD FOSTER is managing editor of the Bristol Herald Courier.
