Salaries of workers at public power utilities can no longer be withheld based on the flimsy excuse that disclosure could harm the utilities’ competitive position, following the Texas state Legislature’s passage of a bill this year.
The Denton Record-Chronicle had a solid overview of the issue this weekend, including highlights of the six-figure earners at Denton Municipal Electric.
Salaries of other city employees were already subject to release under the Texas Public Information Act.
But the state had allowed cities to withhold electric employee salaries since 1999, when lawmakers voted to deregulate the state’s power market. …
The new law, filed by Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, includes categories of information that qualify as competitive matters, meaning cities no longer have discretion in deciding what to withhold. The law lists employee salaries among the categories that don’t qualify as competitive matters.
Ogden’s hometown utility had gotten downright cocky with the public’s information over the last few years --- so much so that even the Bryan city manager couldn’t get a straight answer when he asked for money numbers needed to plan the city’s budget. The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle has closely followed the ins and outs there, where rates are set to increase 12 percent over the next two years and the general manager earns almost $250,000 in salary and incentive pay.
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Contact Lee Ann O'Neal at 713-980-9777 or leeann@texaswatchdog.org. Follow her on Twitter at @texaswatchdog.
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Photo of power lines by flickr user shannonpatrick17, used via a Creative Commons license.
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