For the sake of transparency and watchdog journalism, I often request databases of government employee salaries.

Sometimes such databases can yield interesting stories and reveal who is working for us–the taxpayers.

Based on a database I obtained a few months ago, we can see who the top-earners are among Colorado state employees (aside from people who work at state colleges).

You can download the entire database I obtained by clicking on this link to a PDF document (hit Ctrl+f in the document to search for a name). 

According to the database, here are the top three members of the state’s $100,000+ Club (aside from state colleges).

3.  Keith Owen – Deputy Commissioner, Department of Education – $180,000.00

Keith Owen – Photo: Colorado Department of Education

From his bio (scroll to bottom of page): 

Owen oversees the state’s special education programs, federal programs including Title I, support for local school districts, and accountability systems.

Owen comes to the state department from Durango School District where he served as the superintendent for three years. During his tenure in Durango, he is credited with initiating a principal professional development program for principals in the southwest portion of the state and leading a comprehensive community strategic plan that has resulted in many improvements to the school system.

2. Dr. Christopher Urbina – Agency Director, Department of Public Health & Environment – $215,004.00

Christopher Urbina – Photo: CDPHE

From his bio:

Chris Urbina, M.D., MPH, is the executive director and chief medical officer of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He is an associate professor of the Colorado School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Outside of the department, Dr. Urbina is a member of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Center for Public Health Practice Advisory Committee.

At the Department of Public Health and Environment, in addition to his role as the executive director, Dr. Urbina also is responsible for the supervision of the health-related divisions, including the Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division, the Prevention Services Division, the Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division, the Laboratory Services Division, the Center for Health and Environmental Information and Statistics, and the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division. He also supervises the Office of Health Disparities.

1. Robert Hammond – Colorado’s Commissioner of Education – $235,000.00

Robert Hammond – Photo: Colorado Department of Education

From his bio:

Robert came to be the top leader in Colorado’s K-12 public education system by demonstrating success in city management and the banking industry. It was from there that the Wichita Public Schools in Kansas tapped him to head its administration and operations division and later serve as associate superintendent.

In 2001, he moved to the Rocky Mountain state and was the chief operations officer for the Boulder Valley School District. About five years ago, he was successfully recruited to apply his leadership talents to the state level when he was named the Colorado Department of Education’s Deputy Commissioner. Robert was then recruited as the Commissioner of Education and was officially sworn into office in May 2011.

If you see anything suspicious or concerning in the database of salaries, please send me an email to jeremy@9news.com, or you can contact me on Facebook or Twitter.

Michael Harris was killed two months before what would have been his second birthday. Prosecutors say it’s one of the worst child abuse cases they’ve seen.

Last week I walked around a cemetery in Adams County to pay a visit to the grave marker of Michael Harris.

It wasn’t too hard to find.

Someone left some small plastic toys on his gravestone.   I wonder who’s still thinking about him.

Not many people cared for Michael when he was alive.

His mother and grandparents were meth users, according to court documents. Michael’s mom smoked pot while pregnant and he was born with marijuana in his system.

Michael’s biological father knew of his existence, but didn’t ever meet the little guy.

Prosecutors say Michael’s case is one of the worst they’ve seen when it comes to child abuse.

Judge Chris Melonakis unleashed on caseworkers and accused them of blatantly ignoring abuse and neglect in his home.

It’s important to point out caseworkers are not the ones who killed Michael, even though Judge Melonakis says they are also directly responsible.

The man who was convicted of killing Michael is serving a 42 year prison term.  Michael’s mom is serving 16 years for knowing about the abuse, but doing nothing to stop it.

Many of the caseworker documents and investigative documents are not accessible by the public because of confidentiality laws, so it’s impossible for us to hold them accountable.

While there is oversight in place, as I reporter I’ve learned over the years you can’t count on the government to watch itself.

Agencies need public and media scrutiny, especially when a child dies while under the radar of government employees who should be protecting them.

I’m not sure if the judge’s call for a grand jury investigation will prompt a serious investigation into the Adams County child welfare office.

Perhaps an investigation will find caseworkers did everything they could, as their supervisor tells us.

At Michael’s grave site, there were several other children I recognized from our Failed to Death series who were grouped together in the kids’ area of the cemetery.

I couldn’t help but notice there was plenty of space for more.

3. “That’s a personnel matter and not subject to disclosure.”

Very, very often government agencies like to protect their own to avoid embarrassment.

Often when we request information about a particular public servant who may be abusing his/her position, I’m told “Oh you can’t have that, because that’s a personnel matter.”

I’ve initially been denied expense reports and disciplinary documents based on “personnel matters.”

Scrutinizing an agency’s written policy on “personnel matters” can sometimes prompt disclosures.     Call out the bluff.

 2. “For security reasons, we can’t tell you.”

There are many circumstances in which sensitive information shouldn’t be disclosed to protect the integrity of a criminal investigation (such as a suspect’s mug shot that needs to be used in a photo-line up for witnesses).

I get that.

But some public safety agencies LOVE to use this excuse to avoid doing work.

Or they really think even the most mundane details can cause the earth to fall out of orbit.

I often hear this quote when I request video footage recorded in a public area that may contain wrongdoing.

1.  “There’s no story here.” 

Often when I’m calling on something to find out during the early stages if there really is a story behind a tip, I’ll be told by a government agency spokesperson “There’s no story here.”

Oh really?   Thanks for letting me know.  I really believe you, government spokesperson.  I guess I’ll hang up now and move on.

In MANY cases when I hear “There’s no story here,” there’s a good chance there is something worth looking at.   I’ll bypass the spokesperson and work other sources and documents to make sure.

And sometimes the quote “There’s no story here,” could be a great quote when something is eventually uncovered.

Taxpayers and people who pay a public utility often struggle when writing out checks they have no choice to write-out.

This is why looking at government spending, even on the micro level, is crucial.  Budgets in homes across the country are tight, so we expect the government to tighten its spending.  The small things, like numerous lunch meetings, can add up.

One dollar may be a drop in the bucket for agencies like Parker Water District, but for those who’ve been hit hard by this economy, that one dollar means so much.

This is why I chose to look at credit card expenses within the Parker Water District.   Often credit card spending can reflect the attitude within a public agency of how well public dollars are treated.

It’s easy to swipe a credit card without thought, but when it comes to public money, public officials should be thinking long and hard about how their constituents would feel about the purchase, no matter how big or small.

If most of us in this country can’t afford a $560 detail job on our cars, should a government official get that perk?

In my Monday night story, you heard District Manger Frank Jaeger refer to Parker Water as a “multimillion dollar corporation.”   It’s easy to say that when your customers have no choice but to pay the “corporation” or have their services cut-off.

In reality Parker Water is not a technically a business.  It’s a government agency created by the state legislature years ago and is considered a political subdivision of Colorado.  It’s beholden to the rate-payers and to the tax-payers.

As water rates rise and homeowners see their taxes go up at the discretion of the “corporation,” the questions must be raised…..is Parker Water a business, a government agency or a monopoly?  Is this good business/government sense?

While some may view my report on Parker Water spending nit picky, often among many struggling taxpayers, principle has a value far grater than price.

Thanks for watching.

Here’s one element I didn’t have time to get into for my story tonight.

Take a look at this letter.  Seems kind of odd.  Apparently it took a lot of time and money to figure out how to fix a leaky window.  Rate-payers covered the cost:

$1,000 spent to study a leaky window? Really?

E-470 is a "political subdivison of the State of Colorado."

If E-470 was such a private entity, I likely would not have been granted access to its financial records showing toll money went to massages, bonuses and trips.

What private enterprise would give such documents to an investigative reporter?

There is definitely a perception in Denver that E-470 is a 100% private company.   I thought so too when I first moved to Colorado in August.

Even E-470 describes itself as a political subdivision of the State of Colorado.  E-470 employees also drive vehicles with government license plates.

Behind the business-looking logo is a very public board that is called the E-470 Public Highway Authority:  Here they are….all of them are public officials.

The authority is subject to the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Sunshine Law.   A CORA records request I filed last month yielded the financial documents from E-470.

I spent a lot of time reading through the public meetings the board has about once or twice a month.

I found, looking at board meeting notes, there has only been ONE person to comment during the public comment portion of the meetings over the past year.

I was the second one, as you’ll see in my Sunday night broadcast.

These meetings are held on Thursdays at 9 in the morning.   Any member of the public has the right to go to these meetings, make public comment, and observe.

The perception that E-470 is an absolute private enterprise may be keeping people from asking questions.

In the end, perhaps E-470 can be characterized as a quasi-government entity.

Whatever the case, the tolling agency is open to public scrutiny and beholden to the people of Denver who pay its tolls.