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Select Board wrestles with wage-transparency requests during 2026 budget debate
Summary
During the budget hearing the Select Board heard calls to publish employee wages and benefits in the Town Warrant; the board declined to post individual pay details citing privacy concerns and suggested alternatives such as publishing pay by position on request.
A substantive exchange during Jackson’s Feb. 3 budget hearing focused on whether the town should publish employee wages, benefits and paid time off in the Town Warrant.
Sarah Clemons asked that employee wages, benefits and PTO requests be included in the Town Warrant so voters could see how public funds are spent. Barbara Campbell, Chairman of the Select Board, responded that detailed employee information is available upon request but that publishing individual pay and benefits in the town report raises privacy concerns and potential workplace issues. Frank DiFruscio proposed a compromise: publish pay by position rather than by name to balance transparency with individual privacy. Penny Miller and Eric Mogensen voiced support for greater disclosure. Chief Perley and Karen Burton later provided clarifying details about PTO and sick-time policies.
Why it matters: Transparency advocates contend that salary detail in warrants helps voters assess public spending, while the board and some staff expressed concern about privacy and workplace consequences of publishing individual employee data. The Select Board did not adopt a change to warrant content during the meeting; instead, members said that information can be supplied on request and suggested exploring options such as position-level pay disclosure.
Key points: - Request: Sarah Clemons asked that wages/benefits/PTO be listed in the Town Warrant. - Board response: Barbara Campbell said the information is available on request but believes listing individual wage data in the town report is not appropriate because of privacy and employment concerns. - Possible compromise: Frank DiFruscio suggested publishing wages by position rather than by name to increase transparency while protecting individual privacy. - Staff clarification: Chief Perley and Karen Burton discussed PTO and sick-time briefings in response to the public questions.
Next steps: The Select Board did not alter warrant content during the hearing; the conversation left open the option of providing position-level pay information to interested parties upon request and flagged the issue for possible future consideration.
Provenance: Discussion recorded during the personnel-administration budget item at the Feb. 3 hearing.
