From The Gazette (Colorado Springs): Human error, state salary reporting laws and a network of computer systems all got in the way of creating The Gazette’s interactive database of the state’s highest-paid employees.
That’s why the data that The Gazette used as the basis for our stories on state salaries and interactive online database does not include salaries from the highest-paid public university employees. And it’s a bit older than we would prefer.
The Gazette filed a Colorado Open Records Act request from the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration asking for the current salaries of all state employees who earn at least $100,000. We wanted to share this data so the public could see how their tax dollars are spent. However, creating an accurate database of all state employees’ salaries was a challenge.
The personnel department responded quickly to our request for information on the state’s highest-paid employees, but there were questionable records in the data originally sent.
For instance, one classified employee for the University of Colorado at Denver who had a “technician” title was reportedly the highest paid classified employee there, earning even more than professional engineers or computer programmers. In the Colorado Department of Education, according to the data, 25 consultants earn more than $100,000 – one of whom earns more than $270,000 – a higher salary than the Commissioner of Education.
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