Several readers have asked recently about the databases we post on kentucky.com. These include salary databases for local and state public agencies and property records in Fayette County. Similar questions are likely to arise on Sunday, when we’ll post Jessamine County property records.
Why do we post this data? First of all, it is public information. Any citizen can request data on public spending — including public employees’ salaries — by filing a request under Kentucky’s open records law. Real estate data is available for inspection at county courthouses and, increasingly on county property valuation administrators’ Web sites.
One of the fundamental roles of newspapers historically has been to tell readers how elected officials spend money entrusted to them by the public. Journalists have for years used this public information to write stories about government budgets and spending — and to report on officials who misuse tax money. We have used real estate data to report on market trends and to make sure property is fairly assessed for tax purposes.
Making this data available online in searchable databases increases public access to this public information. We think that’s a good thing.
Linda J. Johnson
Computer Assisted Reporting Coordinator
If these items are going to be displayed, then they need to be accurate. Many of the salaries in the UK database are not close to correct - many are doubled. I would encourage the Herald Leader to double check this data before they post it - part of responsible reporting is not only making data available, but checking for accuracy as well. If the data is coming from the institution incorrectly, perhaps a better story would be why this data is wrong. Thank you.
If the Herald leader is going to publish public records, it has a duty to make sure that the data it is reporting are timely and accurate. The data reflecting state government salaries, for example, are at least eleven months out of date, based on a personal spot check. So, how often do you update the data and don’t you think that it would be more accurate to publish the last date the data were updated?
I think this is a great tool to gain public information. However, I too noticed the information is out of date. Perhaps one could update more frequently or post the date in which the data was last updated.
Same as earlier posted comments. Your information is so outdated that it provided no service to readers. Not only are salaries outdatd, many of these employees no loneger work for state government. The Courier Journal site is up to date or as close as it can be considering all the personnel actions in government.
If people want to know this info, then let them open records it for themselves. Personally I think it’s an invasion of privacy. Will you post the Herald Leader Salaries for all to see? That appears to be the biggest waste of money.