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City denies access to employee wage info March 16, 2021
To show its enthusiasm for Sunshine Week, the City of Lansing has denied my request for employee wage information. Sunshine Week is a nationwide initiative to promote open government and access to public records.
On January 5, I sent a Freedom of Information Act request asking for the following information for every City employee who received wages in 2020:
As an example, I attached the file the City gave me in 2011 for 2010 wages. I've reported on City employee wages two times in the past, for 2010 and 2016.
The denial is dated March 15. Here's what it says:
The "responsive record" referred to in the first paragraph is a PDF file that provides the gross pay for each employee along with the taxable amount. The sequence seems to be employee name within department. Although it is not the kind of file that can be sorted or manipulated in any way, it is searchable - you can look up an employee by name. The email accompanying the denial letter says the report that was run to produce the records I received in 2011 can no longer be run.
The file the City provided in 2017 for 2016 wages was sortable, and that enabled me to present listings by both employee name and department. I was also able to present the following: It is sad that the City chose to deny my request merely because the FOIA allows them to do so. This information is valuable to Lansing residents as well City administrators and City Council members. Rather than denying my FOIA request, the City should show some initiative and post employee wages for the year to the City's website. For this year's candidates for mayor, this would make a great campaign promise.
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stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text
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