Board of Water & Light blocks my 2024 wage report

March 12, 2025

For several years, I have reported employee wages for the Lansing Board of Water & Light on this website. The BWL is not going to let that happen for the year 2024. They gave me a file in response to my Freedom of Information Act request, but it is not one I can work with.

My FOIA request was sent on February 10:

I would like the BWL payroll report for 2024 - the same report you sent me last year for 2023.

The reply came from Marie Mireles, Associate Attorney, Legal Services Department. She did send a file, but it was a PDF file instead of an Excel file. A PDF file cannot be altered or sorted. I told her I needed an Excel file. She sent me an Excel file, but there were problems:

Marie, as I said in my Feb 20 email, the Excel file you sent in response to my FOIA request looks good, but it is no good to me because it is READ ONLY, as indicated by the file name: CY24ReadOnly. See attached screen shot. That is the message I get when I attempt to make changes. Please send me a file I can use.

She replied:

My understanding according to our records is that you did receive a protected Excel file last year, so we provided the same. Our goal with the protected file is that the data cannot be edited.

Her understanding was incorrect. I replied:

No, the files I received in past years were not protected. I don't mess with the numbers, but I have to be able to abbreviate names and job names in order to fit them to a single line on the web page. I have no intention to alter the figures.

She sent me another file:

Please see attached. It is protected but should allow filter and sort.

I said

Not good enough. I want to be able to delete columns I don't need and abbreviate text fields that are too long. You have provided unprotected payroll files for each of the last 3 years and there has been no problem. I have attached them in case you don't believe me.

I attached to my email copies of the files BWL provided for 2021, 2022 and 2023. They are Excel files and not "protected" or restricted in any way. The file they sent not only was "protected", but could not be sorted as the name of the file indicated: CY24Payroll_Filter and Sort.

On March 7, I wrote

Marie, I need to know if you are going to provide me an unprotected, unrestricted 2024 payroll file, because if you are not, I am going to file an appeal.

She replied

The records provided comply with Michigan FOIA. We believe there are ways to achieve what you are looking to that do not require an unprotected version of the file or otherwise involve the BWL.

I emailed my appeal:

This is an appeal of BWL's failure to provide me an unprotected payroll file for 2024 in response to my FOIA request. The BWL has provided me unprotected Excel files four times in the past, for 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. I have published them on my website (see links to stories here) and BWL has not objected to the way they were presented. I do not alter the figures. I need unprotected, unrestricted files only so that I can abbreviate some of the longer names and job descriptions so they will fit on one line on the web page.

When the Freedom of Information Act allows documents to be provided to the public, it does not put restrictions on what is done with the information. Doing so is a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

The March 11 reply was from David Price:

Mr. Harry,

Your May 10, 2025 appeal is hereby denied. The records sought by your request have been provided in an electronic form that satisfies the requirements of the FOIA.

David Price, Board Chair

Lansing Board of Water and Light

So I will not be publishing a report of 2024 BWL wages. Here is the PDF file provided by BWL, for what it's worth. Links to my BWL wage reports for previous years are here, along with reports for the City of Lansing, CADA and CADL.

My only recourse according to the FOIA is to "commence a civil action in the circuit court" but chances are I would lose and it would cost me thousands of dollars.

The value of the reports I publish comes from the ability to sort the data. I can sort by name so you can quickly find the info for a specific employee; sort by salary, total earnings and overtime to see top earners; and sort by hire date and termination date to see who was hired and terminated. This year I had planned to compare the 2024 salaries for the executive staff to their salaries for earlier years.

The Board of Water & Light is owned by the people of Lansing. We should be allowed to see what BWL employees are earning without having to cite the Freedom of Information Act. Anyone who interferes with access to that information should lose their job.

The big question is: What are they hiding?

Send comments, questions, and tips to stevenrharry@gmail.com or call or text me at 517-730-2638. If you'd like to be notified by email when I post a new story, let me know.

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