A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the Butler County Employees Retirement organization regarding pension rosters on September 20, 2024. The request was made by us at Butler County News, a media organization dedicated to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs.
In our pursuit of transparency and accountability, we requested a list of all active employees and retired employees included in the organization's pension fund for the year of 2023. The data fields requested include last name, first name, middle name, date of birth, employer name, employment start date, employment end date, salary, compensation type, amount, year, process date, last disbursement amount, disbursement frequency and the contribution amount for 2023.
As part of our professional responsibilities as journalists and media professionals which include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public, we believe access to these public records is essential. We also asserted our eligibility for a fee waiver as a media professional due to our role in disseminating information.
We await their response as we continue our mission to keep the public informed about important matters related to local government affairs.