Sometimes Transparency Still Requires Some Scraping

Over on TivertonFactCheck.org, I’ve put up a post giving examples of how the real nuggets in transparency data sometimes require another round of investigation.  Partly because of how we got the data and partly because the general public can only handle so much detail before a tool is overwhelming, we lumped all of the “other pay” together.

That’s enough to discover that one local employee was paid more than twice as much in “other pay” than “regular pay” the year he resigned under a cloud of controversy.  But more depth reveals the real affront to local taxpayers:

… $28,809 of the money Maintenance Foreman Robert Martin took home in “other pay” during his final year was for unused sick and vacation time. That’s interesting — arguably outrageous — considering that Martin was forced into retirement after Channel 10 filmed him using town time and resources while working on his own projects as a landlord. …

… Mr. Martin could have used the paid time off that employees receive as a benefit in order to take care of things on his own properties. The fact that he didn’t (and got away with it) means that the people of Tiverton essentially wound up paying him double time for every hour he spent on other projects.

The second example might apply to any city and town in Rhode Island.  The payroll application is enough to discover that overtime has been on a rapid upswing for Tiverton firefighters, year to year.  It takes further inquiry to discover that the department had a corresponding upswing in “injured on duty” pay:

In fiscal year 2012, the town spent $10,310 on injured-on-duty pay. In fiscal year 2013, that number jumped 296%, to $40,777. In fiscal year 2014, the increase wasn’t that huge, but still very large: up 42%, to $58,051.

Not surprisingly, overtime pay jumped up, as well. (Naturally, if somebody cannot work temporarily because he’s injured, his coworkers fill in the gaps.) In 2012, firefighters were paid $209,418 in overtime. The next year, that number was up 66%, to $347,912 and then again, the next year, by 18%, to $410,792.

For a journalist or local analyst, the next step would be to investigate the explanations behind the data.  For an activist (or just a voter) the next step would be to demand that government officials do the legwork of explaining it to them.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Ocean State Current, including text, graphics, images, and information are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the views and opinions of The Current, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, or its members or staff. The Current cannot be held responsible for information posted or provided by third-party sources. Readers are encouraged to fact check any information on this web site with other sources.

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