Mahoning County payroll info added to county's OhioCheckbook website

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham and State Treasurer Josh Mandel appeared together this afternoon to announce that the county’s payroll information has been added to the county’s OhioCheckbook website.

They appeared in the same Mahoning County Courthouse basement commissioners’ meeting room where they had jointly announced in April 2015 that Mahoning was the first county in the state to join Mandel’s OhioCheckbook.com government transparency system.

Initially, Mahoning County’s Checkbook reporting included disclosures of five years of payments to vendors of goods and services to the county, with some exceptions, such as exclusion of stipends to Children Services’ foster parents.

The new addition contains the names, job titles, departments and 2015 annual salaries of some 1,854 county employees, Meacham said.

“The public has a right to know. Taxpayers have a right to know,” he said, explaining why he added that information to the county’s Checkbook site.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com