WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Online paychecks bother many state workers

Online paychecks bother many state workers

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - It's a word you often hear these days from Alabama Governor Bob Riley.

"Transparency in government," Mr. Riley told the Greenville Rotary Club Thursday afternoon.

Transparency in state government, most recently the website that shows all the checks written by the state and if you want to know who makes what, type in a name and there you have it. The governor himself makes a little more than $4,700 per check.. that's before the deductions.

Calls to the newsroom poured in shortly after reporter WSFA 12 News reporter Eileen Jones' initial story on the web posting, calls from people generally upset that an employee's pay would be posted. But the truth of the matter is it's always been public record. The web just makes it easier to get to it in a matter of seconds.

Public or not critics believe a person's pay should remain private, potentially impacting morale among state workers. WSFA 12 News has been unable to find anyone who's upset about the website to go on camera.

"This is not private. It's public and it's been public before I became governor," said Governor Riley.

There is also the question as to why the governor didn't do this during his first term instead of now when he's not eligible to run for re-election.

"I hate to admit it but I didn't know we could do it then. We started on this about a year and a half ago," said Mr. Riley.

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