Q. What can readers to do with this database?
A. Look up the salaries of more than 21,000 government employees.
Q. Why would we offer this?
A. The information is open to the public, and the public pays the taxes that pay government employees.
Q. What's included?
A. Information from all the Polk County governments that we've been able to acquire, including the two largest -- the Polk County School District and Polk County government. Nearly all the cities are included, though we are still working to obtain information from more and enter it into our system. In addition, we have information on the judicial system. We will add state agencies as we obtain them.
Using these salary databases, we will prepare stories that highlight what can be learned from them. The first stories focus on public vs. private salaries. Later stories will deal with salaries paid to women and to minorities.
Q. What if I see an error?
A. Please notify us by e-mail.
Q. What's next?
A. This database is a work in progress. The next phase will include public colleges and state agencies with offices in Polk.
Q. How often will this be updated?
A. Data will be updated annually.
