$73.87/hr. works out to an annual salary equivalent of $154,240.56 at 2088 hrs/yr. Figure 35% of that is overhead (office space, utilities, equipment, supplies, insurance, health benefits, etc.) or 53984.20 leaves gross salary of $100,256.56 or $48.02/hr.

There are a LOT of government employees who make that much or more. Government is expensive!

I’ve met few government employees that were worth more than minimum wage – and look how much they are re-imbursed.  The costs above quoted are not unreasonable though, based on what they are paid.  But what is at work here is that government HATES the freedom of information act.  How dare the people that we work for ask us what we are doing and want to look at documentation of what we are doing.  To cure them of this habit, when they ask for it, and since law now forces us to give it to them, we will make it so expensive for them to get it that they will stop asking for it.

I am an email administrator at a moderately large company.  Trust me, email recovery is time consuming and expensive.  I have been involved in many recoveries for legal cases and such. The email system that we use is not really designed for investigation.  It is designed for privacy and security.  So, when it becomes necessary to get into numerous mail accounts and into old email that may no longer be in the active system, it can be very time consuming indeed.  Furthermore, the nature of the work prohibits it from being done by temps or lesser qualified employees; so the more experienced, hence more expensive people have to do the work.

umm….while I appreciate this site, I have to say that that was kind of a dumb implication to make; that 78/hr was the pay the ‘worker’ received.

That $78/hr is what’s called a BURDENED labor-rate. (includes all overhead attributable to supporting the presence of that ‘worker’)

That’s the gubmint ‘worker’ salary PLUS the obscene bennies package PLUS the entire overhead-cost (buildings, power, water, vehicles, etc. endlessly) for the whole gubmint, divided by the number of ‘workers’.

And sad to say, it’s likely accurate.  The ‘burden’ ratio for gubmint is horrific; because of the equally horrific inefficiency.

Also because of things you never even thought of at your real job…..like ‘personal health’ hour in every work day for ‘exercise’…etc. ad nauseum.

I have seen several analyses that suggest that it costs taxpayers at least $36 every time a rude DMV drone touches the next piece of paper in the queue.

Of course, that 15 million -total- is due solely to gross AP stupidity in asking for every email in the state system.

As an experienced patent-researcher, I’d suggest the AP “refine its search-criteria” just a tad…lol…

Are they also asking for all of Obama’s and his staff’s email? If no, why not?

‘…all state e-mails sent to the governor’s husband, Todd Palin, her office said it would take…’
The question should be why is HE getting all this ‘State e-mail’? Who is the Elected Governor
anyway, Todd or Sarah?

Why hasn’t the AP asked for Obama’s emails while in the Illinois Senate and U.S. Senate. This left wing bias is making me sick.Litteraly sick.