tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post3085390417513852624..comments2024-02-14T16:54:15.327-05:00Comments on PLAINFIELD TODAY: How to look up City, School, PMUA and Housing Authority salariesDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07867186465663386310noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-5014572534210040352009-09-30T11:31:21.184-04:002009-09-30T11:31:21.184-04:00The salary information is public and public employ...The salary information is public and public employees should be aware of this. If they're not, it's up to HR directors to let them know this. The newspapers publish this as public information. Like it or not, it's legal. I am a public employee, although not in Plainfield. I saw my salary up there, and so did my friends. If I want my salary to be private, I will change jobs. As a citizen, I want to know how much the people who work on my behalf in the public sector make. My taxes pay their salaries. You shouldn't (and don't) have to fill out an OPRA request for this kind of information. It should remain freely available. If people want to look it up and complain, they have the right to do so. We live in a free and open society. I agree with your final point, though, that as public employers, the citizens don't do a very good job in some areas. We need to hold our employees accountable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-82502280375618346412009-09-29T22:58:12.774-04:002009-09-29T22:58:12.774-04:00Dear open government
I buy your analogy of taxpay...Dear open government<br /><br />I buy your analogy of taxpayer as shareholder rather than consumer but it does nothing to justify the publishing of our neighbors salaries, which does absolutely nothing to protect us from government. I'm all for publishing elected officials and executives earnings and donations, I'm for knowing in the abstract how many employees make how much, and I wouldn't mind so much if the names could be found out in OPRA requests, but to have everyone's salary on full public view, so any annoyed parent on a whim can look up any kid's teacher for any intent, is pointless and an invasion of their privacy. We as fellow citizens have no right to ask more of them then we do of ourselves. <br /><br />My "move" suggestion was no lamer than your "can take their paycheck from a private company instead of from the taxpayers." Talk about illiquid impracticalities...<br /><br />And if you truly are the employer of the public employees, you're doing one hell of a crappy job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-80953027973523701852009-09-29T20:30:50.337-04:002009-09-29T20:30:50.337-04:00Dear 9:54,
Your analogy is flawed. Rather than v...Dear 9:54,<br /><br />Your analogy is flawed. Rather than voter is to government as consumer is to merchant, the reality is voter:gov't::shareholder:corporation. <br /><br />Unlike a Trader Joe's manager, our elected officials are our agents, and we as a collective employ them and those whom they hire. Shareholders in corporations have rights to know certain information about that corporation's pay structures which allows them to make decisions about their corporation's management.<br /><br />I concede that this level of information as nowhere near as extensive as the information on public employees' compensation is, but there are majors differences between government and corporations that justify this. For example, partial ownership of a corporation is never mandatory. Membership of a government can be. "Just move," sounds nice, but it is often not practical or even economically feasible. Additionally, a corporation never has the right to drag you to jail at gunpoint for doing something it doesn't like. The authority government officials have over voters is justification enough in my mind to provide voters additional tools to be informed "shareholders-in-government".<br /><br />Besides, we often ask public employees to sacrifice some of their rights as citizens in order to ensure that the rest of our rights as citizens are preserved. NJ State employees, for example, cannot run for public office. Requiring the disclosure of public employees' salaries seems like a reasonable step to ensure that our officials aren't abusing us. As I said before, working for the government isn't mandatory. I would go so far as to call it a privilege.<br /><br />The release of public employees' salaries is a small harm compared to the potential harm in concealing public expenditures from the public. Someone's salary isn't that useful in terms of identity theft and all truly sensitive data is restricted. However, the power of government to hide the truth from us is real and often (mis)used. As citizen-shareholders, we have a right to know how our officials are spending the money they demand from us (again, technically at gunpoint). Because of this, the release of this data is both appropriate and necessary.A citizen for open government (aka 8:18 am)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-35519116813745377442009-09-29T20:25:01.724-04:002009-09-29T20:25:01.724-04:00Now, let's find out what the Lawyers, Engineer...Now, let's find out what the Lawyers, Engineers and Special Advisors are making. Then you will see where the REAL money goes in the PMUA & City.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-48733116428536493432009-09-29T18:47:15.038-04:002009-09-29T18:47:15.038-04:00Why does the PMUA have more employees than the Pol...Why does the PMUA have more employees than the Police dept?<br /><br />Why is the PMUA's executive's salary higher than almost all other Plainfield administrators?<br /><br />Does it take a highly skilled person to run a trash company that has financial losses?<br /><br />The time for corruption has come to an end!Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-58091781259960193332009-09-29T13:52:30.991-04:002009-09-29T13:52:30.991-04:00Bad news for 7:05am: These salary numbers were alw...Bad news for 7:05am: These salary numbers were always available upon request, and many of them were/are periodically published in the local newspapers of each individual town to which they apply. "Supporting the exposure" is a characterization that's melodramatic at best and idiotic at worst. I, for one, want to know where my tax money is going.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-41090241606039309442009-09-29T12:54:03.552-04:002009-09-29T12:54:03.552-04:00Dear 8:18
You are not the employer of government ...Dear 8:18<br /><br />You are not the employer of government workers, the government is. You're just a guy who pays for the salaries through your taxes, not unlike how you pay for the cashiers' salaries when you shop at Trader Joes. They're both transfers of money, whether through a corporate intermediary or a government agency.<br /><br />If you don't like the service you can choose not to patronize Trader Joes or complain to the manager. If you don't like the political leadership you can vote against the various current administrations, or move. But note that either case you have no power to hire or fire anyone directly, because you're not the employer. <br /><br />And I'm not a government worker. I just think a little more than you do about the potential consequences of readily available personal information. <br /><br />But maybe next year, in the interests of open government, we can introduce a bill that lists all public workers IQ's, so we can play political god and decide who's smart enough to deserve their salary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-56220865474351037932009-09-29T12:53:22.084-04:002009-09-29T12:53:22.084-04:001,700 employees making an average of $57,000 is a ...1,700 employees making an average of $57,000 is a pretty good buyer pool for 63 subsidized condos.<br /><br />And a lot of voters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-44761936742963934942009-09-29T12:10:29.417-04:002009-09-29T12:10:29.417-04:00The real number is larger than this.
All these or...The real number is larger than this.<br /><br />All these organizations have to pay health insurance and pensions. And, there are those who are and will receive these benefits who are retired or served long enough but were not re-elected.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-68319783120165313262009-09-29T11:37:00.974-04:002009-09-29T11:37:00.974-04:00Amazing...thanks for the insight Dan! It is apprec...Amazing...thanks for the insight Dan! It is appreciated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-43646574973558559492009-09-29T11:24:25.276-04:002009-09-29T11:24:25.276-04:00According to Data Universe in 2008 there were 1,75...According to Data Universe in 2008 there were 1,754 total combined employees of Plainfield City, the Plainfield Board of Ed, PMUA, and the Plainfield Housing Authority.<br /><br />PSS 1089 $62,000,000 $56.9K ave<br />City 475 $32,000,000 $67.8K ave<br />PMUA 150 $4,900,000 $32.8K ave<br />PHA 40 $1,800,000 $45.0K ave<br /><br />Totals $100,900,000 $57.5K aveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-50559117967680604732009-09-29T11:21:30.321-04:002009-09-29T11:21:30.321-04:00To 7:09 AM --
What's the big deal? Are folks ...To 7:09 AM --<br /><br />What's the big deal? Are folks 'worth' more because they're paid more? Or less if they're paid less?<br /><br />There's an interesting book you could read, '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dirt-Greed-Sex-Testament-Implications/dp/0800638484/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254237348&sr=1-3" rel="nofollow">Dirt, Greed and Sex'</a>.<br /><br />If you're a public employee and it bothers you, why not consider a job in the private sector?<br /><br />That is, if they ever start hiring again.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07867186465663386310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-44255527769606214652009-09-29T11:18:57.185-04:002009-09-29T11:18:57.185-04:00Employers have a right to know their employee'...Employers have a right to know their employee's salaries, and as a member of the public who pays my taxes, I am one of the many, many employers of government workers. If anonymous is so worried about having their salary publicly available, they can take their paycheck from a private company instead of from the taxpayers.A citizen for open governmentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1909246571366789334.post-14211216861281477352009-09-29T10:05:38.269-04:002009-09-29T10:05:38.269-04:00If you were so hot to let others know your true sa...If you were so hot to let others know your true salary you could have just found a way to publicize it without supporting the exposure of the 400,000 other local government workers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com