From the Wilmington Star-News (10/29/09): The New Hanover County Alcohol Beverage Control board is refusing to provide the StarNews with the salaries of its employees, citing privacy concerns.
The board did provide names and titles for 38 employees at the newspaper’s request, but only gave a salary range for each employee. For example, the top-earning employee, Administrator Billy Williams, is listed as earning between $150,000 and $232,200.
The StarNews is collecting information on public employees and their salaries, so far publishing data from at least 15 government agencies in Southeastern North Carolina. The information is collected in a searchable database at www.StarNewsOnline.com/salaries.
While New Hanover’s ABC board won’t release its employees’ salaries, the ABC boards in Pender County did provide the newspaper with salary information for its employees. Requests to the Brunswick ABC boards are still pending.
In addition, the top administrator with the state ABC Commission, which oversees alcohol control in North Carolina, said the salaries of all state and local ABC employees are public information.
“We believe here that their salaries are public record,” said Michael Herring, adding though that he has not received an opinion from the state’s Attorney General on the matter.
The StarNews requested the employee information from the New Hanover ABC board – including names, positions, hire dates and salaries – in late August. The ABC board, which operates liquor stores throughout the county, provided employee information and salary ranges in early October.
When the newspaper followed up, Doug Fox, an attorney who represents the ABC board, sent a letter on Oct. 23 to the StarNews stating that the board believed providing only the salary range was in the “best interest of our employees and their privacy” and that the board has “adequately answered” the newspaper’s request.
When asked on Thursday for the salary information, Fox said the board believes releasing it “will create upheaval and turmoil among the employees.”
When told of Herring’s comments and asked to cite a specific statute exempting the board from releasing the salary information, Fox said he would present the matter again to the board.
Ashley Perkinson, an attorney representing the N.C. Press Association, said she is not aware of any exceptions to the public records law for local ABC boards.
by Chris Mazzolini, Star-News Staff Writer