Wichita - February 22, 2011 -
KansasOpenGov.org, a project of
Kansas Policy Institute, now has
state payroll data for the 2010 calendar year.
Overtime,
total payroll by agency,
state employees earnings over $100,000, and a fully searchable
database are all available to the public. Total pay declined by 0.8% from 2009 but is still 4.4% higher than in 2007. State agencies paid out $10.2 million in overtime last year, up 10.4% over 2009. All data on
KansasOpenGov.org comes directly from government agencies.
"Kansans have busy lives and it shouldn't be a hassle to try to find out how their tax dollars are spent," began KPI president Dave Trabert. "Even the most dedicated individual would have to navigate numerous databases and documents to get at the information we've placed in one central clearinghouse."
Total pay includes all types of earnings, such as overtime, bonuses, and shift differential from all revenue sources, which may include non-state funds. The agency reported for each employee reflects the last agency the employee was employed with as of the end of the pay calendar year and is not necessarily the agency the employee worked for during the entire year.
KansasOpenGov.org also has
carryover cash balances and per-pupil
spending and
revenue for every school district,
retiree payments,
state spending history by agency, employment and union
contracts and
property tax information for every Kansas county.
Trabert concluded by saying, "Better information allows for better decisions. Our sincere hope is that taxpayers, government officials, and media find this information helpful as the state continues to grapple with a projected $500 million budget deficit."