Expanded Local And County Payroll Data Readily Available To Kansans
Payroll Data Demonstrate Burden Of Local Gov't On Taxpayers |
June 6, 2012 - Wichita - Five of the seven cities for which payroll data was recently published on a government transparency site spent less on payroll in 2011 than 2010. Topeka and Lawrence actually increased payroll spending and along with five other cities (Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, and Wichita) spent $410 million in total pay. This data is now available at KansasOpenGov.Org, a project of Kansas Policy Institute. KansasOpenGov also recently published payroll data for six counties (Butler, Cowley, Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, and Shawnee) and the numbers reflect total pay, a figure that includes items such as salary, bonuses, and overtime; data was also published for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County. Each listing shows the amount paid to every employee.
"It is good to see some belt tightening at the local level," said KPI President Dave Trabert. "Private businesses learned long ago that they still need to deliver quality services under tight budgets and government should be no different."
Trabert continued, "With access to more information, taxpayers can start asking more questions about where their money is going. Should 144 individuals in Johnson County take home over $100,000? Does it make sense for Topeka to payout nearly $2 million overtime, as they did in 2011? Do taxpayers know that the City of Wichita has a tennis pro that is paid $93,972? Until taxpayers have that kind of information, they can't start making wise decisions."
Aside from changes in total payroll expenditures, the data also show how much each government spends on overtime payments. Of the 14 governments evaluated, the number of employees who earned more than $10,000 in overtime pay varied from one in Cowley Co. to 142 in Overland Park. As with all of the data at KansasOpenGov.Org, the payroll information released today was obtained via open records requests and reflects official government records.
Trabert concluded, "This information provides a small window into how tax dollars are being spent and we're happy to be providing this free service to Kansans." |
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Kansas Policy Institute is an independent think-tank that advocates for free market solutions and the protection of personal freedom for all Kansans. Our work centers on state and local economic policy with primary emphasis on education, fiscal policy and health care. We empower citizens, legislators and other government officials with objective research and creative ideas to promote a low-tax, pro-growth environment that preserves the ability of governments to provide high quality services. To speak with Kansas Policy Institute, please contact James Franko at (316) 634-0218.
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