Archive for the ‘Transparency’ Category

Taxpayers Paid $129,100,798 for “Official” Union Activities in 2009

(Capitol Research Center) Taxpayers paid more than $129 million in salaries and benefits to federal employees for doing “official” union work in 2009. These federal employees logged about 3 million hours and received government paychecks for doing union work. How can this be? Title V of the...
December 27th, 2011 | Accountability, Transparency | Read More

Anchorage Property Taxes: A Snapshot

Recently, there has been much discussion in Anchorage regarding  public employee wages, education and property taxes. Folks on both sides tend to throw out numbers regarding whether or not public employees are paid enough, and whether Anchoragites pay high property taxes. The Policy Forum has posted...
September 2nd, 2011 | Accountability, Transparency | Read More

Do AWWU Plumbers Deserve a Pay Raise?

The Anchorage Assembly voted down the three year nearly 15% increase in wages for plumbers (most at AWWU). Was this the right decision? The average AWWU plumber receives about $109,000 annually in pay and benefits; the average Anchorage non-AWWU plumber gets about $68,000 annually(not including benefits,...
August 31st, 2011 | Collective Bargaining Agreements, Fiscal Policy, Recent News | Read More

State of Alaska Payroll Database Launched

Executive Director Jeremy Thompson explains Why Alaska Government Transparency is a Worthy Cause Here at the Alaska Policy Forum we believe that transparency is always the best public policy. As the state’s only free-market think tank, we believe transparency is the key to a more educated, involved,...
July 14th, 2011 | Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Updated: Anchorage Municipal Elections Financial Snapshot

Update: The spreadsheet has been updated to reflect some information that was misplaced in the APOC records. The new spreadsheet reflects 24 hour reports as of April 4, 2011. Please see the new revision for updated figures. The figures quoted in this post reflect an earlier version. The Alaska Public...
April 1st, 2011 | Transparency | Read More

MOA Grant Funded Payroll Now Available

The Alaska Policy Forum has now made available the payroll data for positions inside MOA that are grant funded. Visit the MOA payroll data homepage and click on the blue block titled “Grant Funded Positions.”
March 23rd, 2011 | Fiscal Policy, Transparency | Read More

Anchorage School District Payroll launched

The Alaska Policy Forum has set up a series of websites for the citizens of Anchorage and MatSu to view the salaries and benefits of civil servants inside local government. The data can be navigated by a clickable flowchart. The goal is to acquaint users with the structure and layout of local government...
March 21st, 2011 | Fiscal Policy, Transparency | Read More

Mat-Su Payroll Portal Launched

Mat-Su Payroll Portal Launched
Anchorage, Alaska – Continuing with its efforts to advance government transparency, the Alaska Policy Forum has launched a new portal which allows citizens in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to view the salaries of its public employees. Like the previously launched website, the data can be navigated...
March 8th, 2011 | Featured, Fiscal Policy, Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Payroll Database for Anchorage Now Online

Payroll Database for Anchorage Now Online
The Alaska Policy Forum has launched a transparency website for the Municipality of Anchorage payroll. The website allows citizens to view payroll and benefit data for nearly all Municipal employees by navigating an organizational chart. The data provided lists the employee, the position title, bargaining...
February 21st, 2011 | Featured, Fiscal Policy, Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Ten Transparency Principles

(Sunlight Foundation) The transparency group Sunlight Foundation has followed up on its 2007 list of “8 Principles of Open Government,” extending the list to ten must-do’s for proper public access to information. Read the article <here>
August 12th, 2010 | Transparency | Read More

Alaska Watchdog:Boroughs to end financial disclosure laws

An often overlooked provision in Alaska statute allows cities to exempt themselves from campaign financial disclosure requirements, and several Alaskan boroughs have made the move to include the exemptions on the upcoming October ballots. On Tuesday night, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly introduced an ordinance...
August 5th, 2010 | Policy, Transparency | Read More

Financial Regulation Bill Exempts SEC From FOIA Requests

Under a little-noticed provision of the recently passed financial-reform legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission no longer has to comply with virtually all requests for information releases from the public, including those filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The law, signed last week...
July 29th, 2010 | Accountability, Recent News, Transparency | Read More

Budget manipulation and its effects on taxpayers

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University takes a serious look at state budgets and the inflation of them caused by gimmickry, fiscal evasion, and fiscal illusion; all common practices which pass extra costs off to taxpayers. Read the full report <here>
July 22nd, 2010 | Transparency | Read More

State rolls millions in to General Fund

(AlaskaWatchdog.org) After several years of internal discussion and organization, the Legislative Finance Division has completed a project that adds more than $750 million into the General Fund in an effort to simplify State finances. Legislative Fiscal Analyst David Teal said the Budget Clarification...
July 16th, 2010 | Fiscal Policy, Policy, Transparency | Read More

Group claims exemption from open records law

(The State) A state education association has asked a federal court to decide whether South Carolina freedom of information laws violate the group’s First Amendment rights. The case centers on whether the South Carolina Association of School Administrators must comply with an open records request....
July 12th, 2010 | Education, Transparency | Read More

Government Contracts Should Be Easier to Access

By Jeremy Thompson July 7, 2010 It shouldn’t be this difficult. Earlier this year, the Alaska Policy Forum submitted public records requests to local governments and school districts looking for any sole-source contracts they may have, asking for the name of the vendor, date of the contract, and...
July 7th, 2010 | Fiscal Policy, Recent News, Transparency | Read More