SLED releases boxes of budget information
By Tony Bartelme , Yvonne Wenger
Taxpayers interested in finding out how the North Charleston Police Department spends its $27 million budget can pick up a pre-packaged binder and immediately find information on everything from salaries ($13.5 million) to expenditures on a new canine bite suit ($1,200).
Taxpayers interested in the city of Charleston's $35 million police department budget can do the same and quickly learn how it spent about $724,000 on overtime and $135,000 on tires.
But prying similar information from the State Law Enforcement Division isn't so simple.
On Thursday, three weeks after The Post and Courier asked for information about SLED's expenditures, and after a public harangue by SLED's director over the newspaper's request, the agency released two boxes full of budget data on salaries, purchases and other payments over the past five years.
Previous story
Lloyd makes no apologies, published 08/09/09
The newspaper was examining the information Thursday and plans to meet with SLED officials next week to discuss the data. Requests for additional information under the state's open records act are still being processed.
The agency's slow response, and the director's vilification of a reporter seeking the data, shows how difficult it is for the public to get a basic understanding of how the state's top law enforcement agency spends tax dollars.
The S.C. comptroller general keeps more detailed information on some state agency costs on its "spending transparency" Web site, including monthly expenditures on travel, contracts and other supplies.
In addition, some financial information can be found in SLED's "accountability report," a document all state agencies are required to compile.
The reports identify the agency's goals, accomplishments, revenues and expenditures. These reports are posted on the S.C. Budget and Control Board's new "transparency hub."
But the financial data in the accountability reports are limited at best; unlike North Charleston's police budget, for instance, the state accountability reports don't identify how much an agency spent on travel, new vehicles or overtime.
On July 24, The Post and Courier asked SLED for detailed budget figures and was told to submit a Freedom of Information Act request.
A week later, the agency responded by presenting a two-page printout from a Web site and a bill for $58.50. Reggie Lloyd, SLED's director, grilled a reporter for nearly 20 minutes over the request, eventually calling his predecessor's accounting system "a joke." After the paper printed that comment, Lloyd issued a press release calling the story "a lie," even though the reporter had recorded Lloyd's comments.
Several state lawmakers have since questioned Lloyd's behavior. In a more recent interview, Lloyd made no apologies and said his agency had taken great lengths to gather the data.
On Thursday, SLED provided hundreds of pages of information, organized into categories, at no charge.
By comparison, the Department of Natural Resources took just two days to release expenditures during its most recent fiscal year. The Department of Public Safety took three days.
Reach Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554. Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
Tides (anonymous) says...
What SLED agents TIPPED OFF former Senator Arthur Ravenel that his son "Tommy" was being watched before he was busted for all that cocaine???
August 14, 2009 at 5:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
For some reason, this story reminds me of the other story today about the indicted Head Start employees.
August 14, 2009 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
~~ ** CITIZEN ALERT ** ~~
If this article does NOT demonstrate how "Ex-LAX" the Editors of not only the POST & Courier; but all other newspapers in our ENTIRE state are, then God help US...!!!
It is laughable and indignant to TAXPAYERS that this information was submitted in BINDERS and not on LINE for all to see and LINK TOO...!?!? Geez....!!!
Citizens, how long has the INTERNET been around...!?!?!
Citizens, how long have YOU had online BANK Accounts...??
Citizens, How long has Google Earth been FREE to download and use to pin ALL this information too...!?!?!
MY ...GOD...!! (Fist POUNDZ...LOUDLY ..and with a SCREAM for Editor Charles ROWE !!)
There is ONLY ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN TO BLAME for the LACK of online trasnsparency across OUR ENTIRE STATE...!!
None other than CHARLES ROWE and Barbara Williams....!!!!
These two fine citizens have had how many years at the HELM of this FREAKIN' PAPER....!!!!!!!???
They obviously use this PAPER as a BLANKET to protect rather than a BLOW TORCH to reveal the bare TRUTH...!!!!
You mean they wait until a BLACK man is chief of SLED to ask for RECORDS...!?!?! In BINDERS...!?!?!
MY WHITE Backside......!!!!! (Knuckles CRACK!!!)
Where is the NAACP....!?!?!?!
Where is ROBERT FORD.....!?!?!?!
WHERE IS "REVEREND" DARBY.....!?!?!
Citizens, it is blatantly obvious what is going on here if you stop and look at all ANGLES...!!!! The SMELL from SLED and this PAPER alone.... rival WESTVACO....!!!!!
Citizens .....this is 2010...!!! We have GPS Phones and Google EARTH...!?!?!
Does this PAPER call for the TRACKING of all ELECTED officials during working HOURS to let ALL citizens know where they are at and WHO they are talking too...!?!? The daily KMZ file could be loaded up and linked to EVERY PAPER in our entire state for all citizens to have daily updates on what ALL elected officials ARE doing...OR NOT DOING...!!!
This is NUTz...!!!!!
August 14, 2009 at 1:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Who wrote this FLUFF....!?!?!
TONY....????
Tony, why did you go to journalism SCHOOL...???
WHY....???
My god, TONY, this is your STATE too...!!!!! You son, need to start reporting like it....!!!!! Do you think anyone would want you to represent them in a court of LAW after such "leisure" reporting as this.....!?!?! You are BETTER than this...!!!! You need to watch some re-runs of MATLOCK...!!!!
Heck, grab some re-runs of Sanford and SON and learn to get an ATTITUDE....!!!!!!
DO you realize that I have more of a following at Bosch, MUSC, Alumax, and "Mamma's" FORD dealership than YOU Do...!?!?!
Come on...."TONY, TONY, TONY"...stop naming "TUNES" and start whistling "DIXIE"...
Let's GO !!!!!
August 14, 2009 at 1:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AMAZING (anonymous) says...
The cardboard box method of accounting.
August 14, 2009 at 1:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STREETLAW (anonymous) says...
McMasters needs to get heavily involved. Once he gets Craig's List straightened out.
Did you see where he said the girls follow NASCAR events and get a hotel room near by. He said then the men will come.
Hey, maybe they're just breathing hard?
August 14, 2009 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
The Freedom of Information Act is a joke with no real penalty unless the person making the request has the money to hire a lawyer. SLED had to comply finally in this case because of the publicity, but government agencies violate this law all the time and nothing is done. You would think that law enforcement would at least obey the law, but that is not the case. We need a state FOIA with some SEVERE penalties, but that will never happen because the legislature doesn't want the citizens to know what is really going on! Democracy cannot function if the citizens are not informed about what the government is doing. Hats off to the Post & Courier for holding a corrupt and incompetent agency's feet to the fire! The average citizen doesn't have that much pull.
August 14, 2009 at 5:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
Well JustJennings I have to agree with you.
... (NOW IF I COULD JUST GET THE P&C TO LOOK INTO THE CORRUPT AND INCOMPETENT FAMILY COURT !!!!)
August 15, 2009 at 8:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
augustusceasar (anonymous) says...
Okay "Tides" it is clear that you have not been taking your meds. NO SLED agent was involved in the Ravenel situation - the Now Director of SLED (Lloyd) prosecuted Ravenel (Lloyd was the a US attorney at the time) and helped him to a sweet sentence deal - in exchange the then prosecuting attorney - Lloyd -got to run SLED - not that he is qualified or has any inkling about what LE does but since he helped keep the Governor happy (along with Ms. Chapur) that is his reward and the reason the Post and Courier will likely never run out of material to write about as long as Sanford remains in office.(WHY is he still there?) AND now Lloyd gets to carry a gun and play cops and robbers for real - cute huh? and all on our dime!
August 20, 2009 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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