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SALT LAKE CITY -- As a taxpayer do you have a basic right to know where every dollar is being spent? Some state lawmakers argue you don't.
Under a new proposal, many of the names and public salaries posted on the website UtahsRight.com would no longer be your right to know.
"I don't think it does a lot of good in a neighborhood. It creates nothing but contention," said Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton.
Stevenson, who is the sponsor of SB309, believes the public's access to individual government salaries causes problems and invades a person's privacy. He proposes prohibiting the disclosure of any single public employee's salary if that salary is less than $85,000.
"It makes, I would say, nearly 80 to 90 percent of all public employees' names associated with salary-protected information," said Joel Campbell, with the Utah Press Association.
Critics argue the bill blocks efforts by watchdog groups to track government spending.
"The public's right to know doesn't end at $85,000," said media attorney Jeff Hunt. "The vast majority of states agree with that -- only South Carolina and Virginia put limits on employee salary disclosure; both are well below the $85,000 limit Stevenson's bill suggests."
"We do think that the public is entitled to information about salaries of folks that work for municipal government. The question is whether or not they should have them by name," said Lincoln Shurtz, a lobbyist for Utah League of Cities and Towns.
Shurtz says knowing someone's salary can cause infighting among public employees.
"When you go into government service that's part of the deal," he said. "You know that you're working with taxpayer dollars, you're supported by taxpayer dollars. You don't have a right of privacy in your salary."
The Salt Lake Tribune compiles the data for UtahsRight.com. Deputy Editor Tim Fitzpatrick said Stevenson's proposal would eliminate 95.3 percent of the names listed on the website.
E-mail: lprichard@ksl.com
