The West Virginia State auditor has posted the pay of all state employees online, leaving some upset because anyone can see their gross income.
This month, State Auditor Glen Gainer III posted the gross income of all 2006 state employees on the state auditor's Web site.
"People need to realize that this was published every year in a paper copy," Gainer said. "I just think that the Internet is the most cost-effective way to publish this information now."
Posting the information means the salaries of more than 65,000 state employees are available for viewing. West Virginia has a payroll of almost $1.5 billion, and the Web site is broken down employee by employee.
Former Marshall University president Dan Angel makes $288,629.16 while current president Stephen Kopp makes only $232,333.26.
There also is a discrepancy in the figures of two West Virginia head football coaches.
The difference between a ranked football team and an unranked school is more than just 25 spots in a poll. West Virginia University football head coach Rich Rodriguez made $1,233,319.78, while Marshall University head coach Mark Snyder made $310,916.46, a difference of more than $922,000.
Despite all the opposition, Gainer is continuing to back his stand on posting the state wages online.
"Other states (post wages online) as well, so it's not just West Virginia," Gainer said. "I have a responsibility through the state constitution and the laws to make it available and to make state finances truly open and transparent to the public. After all, it is public information."
"This type of transparent information tends to hold people more accountable," Chris Cassidy, assistant professor of management, said. "This also could cause a lot of comparison problems inside the university."
If a student or professor would like to see the figures, they can visit the state auditor's Web site http://www.wvsao.gov.
Chris Atkins can be contacted at atkins41@marshall.edu.
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