Public Source challenges Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office decision to redact deputy names

Every year, in an effort to give taxpayers a look at the single largest area of local public spending, Pittsburgh’s Public Source asks some of the largest governments in the region to provide payroll information. Last year and this year, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office declined to disclose the names of a substantial number of deputies, and the newsroom’s challenge to that decision is now heading to the Commonwealth Court.

The state Right-to-Know Law requires that governments at the state level and below disclose, upon request, records reflecting spending, including payrolls. The law explicitly includes the name, title, salary and other payments or expenses to any employee of an agency. It excludes some more personal employee records.