Other (indicate in message) Submitted: April 12, 2023 | Updated: June 7, 2023

(April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

Hello again Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Government Records Officer),

I'd like to make a public records request for the following information under NC Public Records Law
Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html

A previous request for this info (but with a different timeline) was submitted via a Sunshine Request to the Town of Spindale, NC on December 07, 2022. That request was ultimately fulfilled by Cathy Swafford on December 15, 2022. I’d now like to make the same request again, but with the updated timeline indicated below:

Please provide a list of ALL Town of Spindale, NC employees and their “base yearly salaries.” Please also provide a list of all overtime paid to each employee as of the current date. Please provide all responsive information as of 04/13/2023 (or on the date the query is performed). Please include the following:

1) Name of Employee
2) Original Hire Date
3) Current Department
4) Current Position
5) Current Base Salary (Also Hourly Rate for non-salaried employees. If that applies)
6) Overtime Paid to Employee

Ideally, I’d like to receive the responsive records in an Excel format, if possible.

If any / all of the info requested above is already publicly available online, then please provide a link to where it can be accessed.

** Please Note: For all items listed above, I am simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I am NOT asking to come in person to inspect, nor to obtain a printed copy of, this electronic record. I’m requesting explicitly that any responsive info be provided to me via an electronic medium / format (in which the copy of this record should already exist).

I do not have any additional or further clarifying info to provide to narrow this request, other than what you see in the message above. If it is unclear, or you are unable to fulfill any or all parts of this request, please specifically cite where a reason for denial is justified under NC Public Records Law.**
——————

** Please note that by submitting this request, I am NOT agreeing to pay any potential fees or associated costs related to my request. If it is not possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let me know the itemized potential cost and explanations for those charges upfront, and DO NOT proceed until I can respond.

By Law I am not required to provide a name or address to associate with a public records request, but in order to move things along I’d like to clarify that this request is being made by:

Sunshine Request
PO Box 17391
Asheville, NC 28816

The request has been sent solely from the email address [email protected] . If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from me or my Team. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of my request – I intend to continue to pursue my request.

Thank you for your assistance!

Editor’s Note:Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.

Editor’s Note 04/12/23:  On 12/15/2022 we fulfilled a similar request for “Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of present day.”  Please see all responses provided by Cathy Swafford at the following URL:

https://www.sunshinerequest.com/records_request/december-2022-request-for-town-of-spindale-nc-government-employee-base-yearly-salaries-and-overtime-as-of-present-day/

Despite the way Cathy labeled the files, she assured us that “… The salaries [were] current as of 12-5-22″. In regard to part # 6) Overtime Paid to Employee [as of the present day] — She provided additional clarification about that portion of the request as well.

We anticipate that it’s likely we might receive similar responses regarding the new April 2023 request, so we just want to make the sender aware of that possibility.

Thank you for using www.sunshinerequest.com!

Status: Completed

Activity:

  • June 7, 2023 2:55 pm

    10 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “rmbland spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “nwalker spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: Jun 7, 2023, 2:55 PM
    subject: Re: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Hi Cathy,

     

    Thanks for your reply!

     

    I’ve reviewed the PDF document you sent on 05/31/23, and have added it to our website.
    ————

     

    Regarding your reference to our older December 2022 request. In that case you provided a spreadsheet with “Town of Spindale Yearly Salaries as of 7/1/22 “. Your notes from December, specific to that request were:

     

    “Our current payroll system does not have a report that will give the specific requirements that you requested. This was as close as I could get.”

     

    and

     

    “I have attached a Workers Comp report which shows overtime paid from 1-1-22 thru 12-15-22. Please keep in mind that this is a workers comp report, so the gross wages and O/T amount do NOT add to total gross wages (WC Wage on the report). However, it is an accurate representation of the OT Wages Spindale has paid this calendar year. If you have questions about reading it let me know.”
    ————

     

    I’m going to go ahead and mark the April 2023 request as Completed, and I will assume that the same explanations from December also apply to the April request.

     

    However, I do just want to ask for future reference, if you can please clarify whether it’s ever going to be possible to provide current lists of employees and their salaries or overtime paid as of the present day? It sounds like you’re saying that you can’t provide this information except for every 6 months when it is updated? I ask this because it is very likely we will continue to receive and need to submit similar records requests like this one in the future — so it would be helpful to understand how employee salary data is currently being maintained by the County.

     

    I’d like to recommend, if it has not already been considered, that up-to-date salary data is proactively made “public” on the Town’s website or a data dashboard. This way it does not have to be obtained via repeated public records requests. It is in the public interest to provide this type of info, and it would also help to reduce staff time to fulfill requests.

     

    Thank you for your help!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Completed
  • May 31, 2023 2:35 pm

    10 months ago

    from: cswafford spindalenc.net <[email protected]>
    to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    cc: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “rmbland spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “nwalker spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: May 31, 2023, 2:35 PM
    subject: RE: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Good afternoon,

     

    Per your request I am attaching a Worker’s Compensation Report that provides the additional information that you have asked for. I believe this is the same report I provided to you back in December. The employee list with employment dates and base salaries has not been updated since the one I provided in December. It will be updated in early July, if you’d like to make that request then I will be happy to provide.

     

    Cathy Swafford, CLGFO

    Town of Spindale

    Finance Officer / Town Clerk

    PO Box 186

    Spindale, NC 28160

    828-286-3466

     

    **Editor’s Note: Please see the 1 refereneced file (“W-C-Report-Calendar-Year-6-1-23.pdfv”) at top left in our Documents section.


    Status: Response Received from Government
  • May 23, 2023 2:46 pm

    10 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “rmbland spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “nwalker spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: May 23, 2023, 2:46 PM
    subject: Re: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Hi Cathy,

     

    Thank you for your reply.

     

    I will follow up with you again early next month, if I haven’t heard anything else before then.

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Government Processing Request
  • May 23, 2023 2:41 pm

    10 months ago

    from: cswafford spindalenc.net <[email protected]>
    to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>, “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “rmbland spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, “nwalker spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: May 23, 2023, 2:41 PM
    subject: RE: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    I apologize for my slow response. You will have this by the close of business May 31, 2023.

     

    Cathy Swafford, CLGFO

    Town of Spindale

    Finance Officer / Town Clerk

    PO Box 186

    Spindale, NC 28160

    828-286-3466


    Status: Government Processing Request
  • May 23, 2023 2:27 pm

    10 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected]
    date: May 23, 2023, 2:27 PM
    subject: Re: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Hello again Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Records Officer), Mayor, and all others CCed,

     

    This is my 3rd attempt to follow up with you all regarding my public records request. It was first sent to your offices on Thu, Apr 13, 3:32 PM.
    (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    It has been nearly 1.50 months since I submitted the request. I haven’t received any response since sending in the request in April, or to any of my follow up emails on May 08 and May 16.

     

    Under NC Public Records Law, the Town is required to “promptly” process all valid public records requests. With this in mind — I want to highlight the court case referenced in item #6 of the following article, posted on the NC Press Association website.
    In this instance: “The trial court held that an unjustified one-month delay in production of records was tantamount to a denial”. http://www.ncpress.com/stories/a-bakers-dozen-for-2022nc-public-records-law,2390

     

    Please confirm receipt to let me know the request has begun processing, and please provide an anticipated date for its completion.

     

    Having made all reasonable efforts to follow up, if I do not hear back in the next week I will mark the request as having been “Denied” by your organization.

     

    Thank you!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • May 16, 2023 4:33 pm

    11 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>, [email protected]
    date: May 16, 2023, 4:33 PM
    subject: Re: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Hi Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Government Records Officer) and all CCed,

     

    This is my second attempt to follow up on my public records request. First sent to your offices on Thu, Apr 13, 3:32 PM.
    (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    I have not received any response since sending in the request.

     

    Please confirm receipt to let me know the request has begun processing, and please provide an anticipated date or timeline for its completion.

     

    I will make one final attempt to follow up again in 1 week, if I have not heard anything else before then.

     

    Thank you!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • May 8, 2023 2:57 pm

    11 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: May 8, 2023, 2:57 PM
    subject: Re: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Good Afternoon Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Government Records Officer),

     

    I’m following up on my public records request in the email thread above. First sent to your offices on Apr 13, 2023, 3:32 PM:

     

    (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    I have not received any response since sending in the request.

     

    Please confirm receipt to let me know the request has begun processing, and please provide an anticipated date or timeline for its completion.

     

    I will follow up again in 1 week, if I have not heard anything else before then.

     

    Thank you for your help!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • April 13, 2023 3:32 pm

    1 year ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: “gswebber spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    cc: “cswafford spindalenc.net” <[email protected]>
    date: Apr 13, 2023, 3:32 PM
    subject: Records Request: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Hello again Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Government Records Officer),

     

    I’d like to make a public records request for information that may be available in your office.

     

    If you’re not the appropriate party to contact about the request, please provide the correct name and email address of whom I should send it to.

     

    Please confirm receipt to let me know the request will begin processing, and if possible, please provide a rough estimate of when the request may be completed. I will plan on following up again before the end of the month if I have not heard back before then.

     

    Here are the details of the request:

     

    Subject: (April 2023) Request for Town of Spindale, NC Government: Employee base yearly salaries and overtime, as of 04/13/23 or present day.

     

    Message: “Hello again Cathy (or Town of Spindale, NC Government Records Officer),

     

    I’d like to make a public records request for the following information under NC Public Records Law
    Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html

     

    A previous request for this info (but with a different timeline) was submitted via a Sunshine Request to the Town of Spindale, NC on December 07, 2022. That request was ultimately fulfilled by Cathy Swafford on December 15, 2022. I’d now like to make the same request again, but with the updated timeline indicated below:

     

    Please provide a list of ALL Town of Spindale, NC employees and their “base yearly salaries.” Please also provide a list of all overtime paid to each employee as of the current date. Please provide all responsive information as of 04/13/2023 (or on the date the query is performed). Please include the following:

     

    1) Name of Employee
    2) Original Hire Date
    3) Current Department
    4) Current Position
    5) Current Base Salary (Also Hourly Rate for non-salaried employees. If that applies)
    6) Overtime Paid to Employee

     

    Ideally, I’d like to receive the responsive records in an Excel format, if possible.

     

    If any / all of the info requested above is already publicly available online, then please provide a link to where it can be accessed.

     

    ** Please Note: For all items listed above, I am simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I am NOT asking to come in person to inspect, nor to obtain a printed copy of, this electronic record. I’m requesting explicitly that any responsive info be provided to me via an electronic medium / format (in which the copy of this record should already exist).

     

    I do not have any additional or further clarifying info to provide to narrow this request, other than what you see in the message above. If it is unclear, or you are unable to fulfill any or all parts of this request, please specifically cite where a reason for denial is justified under NC Public Records Law.**
    ——————

     

    ** Please note that by submitting this request, I am NOT agreeing to pay any potential fees or associated costs related to my request. If it is not possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let me know the itemized potential cost and explanations for those charges upfront, and DO NOT proceed until I can respond.

     

    By Law I am not required to provide a name or address to associate with a public records request, but in order to move things along I’d like to clarify that this request is being made by:

     

    Sunshine Request
    PO Box 17391
    Asheville, NC 28816

     

    The request has been sent solely from the email address [email protected]. If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from me or my Team. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of my request – I intend to continue to pursue my request.

     

    Thank you for your assistance!”

     

    Thank you!

     

    ** Sunshine Request (www.sunshinerequest.com) makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.


    Status: Sent to Government
  • April 12, 2023 2:26 pm

    1 year ago

    Submitted to Sunshine Request
    Status: Pending