(1) What is UtahsRight.com?
(2) What can I find on UtahsRight.com?
(3) Is this information public?
(4) I found a name I recognize in the public-salary / criminal charges / divorce settlement database, but I'm not sure it's the right person. What should I do?
(5) Criminal charges once were filed against me but later dropped / expunged. Will they show up in your criminal charges database?
(6) Do you list names and salaries of government workers in Utah?
(7) I'm a public employee and I have a compelling reason why I believe my salary information shouldn't be published. What can I do?
(8) What can I do if I find incorrect or out-of-date information in one of your databases?
(9) Why is my city / county / school district not included in the public salary database?
(10) What happens if I find inappropriate material on the discussion forum?


(1) What is UtahsRight.com?
The newly launched Web site is a joint venture of The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest newspaper, and MediaOne of Utah, the Tribune's advertising and production company, with the aim of making a wide array of useful and interesting databases available and accessible to members of the public.

The site, so named because it provides data that Utahans have a “right to know,” brings to one central location a host of public information that had previously been scattered on various government and private Web sites or unavailable online-- all of it easily searchable.

As such, UtahsRight.com reflects a new definition of "news and information" provided to readers by a traditional media outlet, according to the UtahsRight.com site manager.

(2) What can I find on UtahsRight.com?
We specialize in posting databases of government information for public use, especially those that might be hard to find elsewhere.

Presently, the core of UtahsRight.com is a pool of databases of public-employee salaries; district court criminal charges; municipal statistics; divorce settlments; restaurant inspections; unclaimed property; and other information. New databases are being added regularly, the latest being DUI charges for Utah's most populous counties, as well as reports from child-care center inspections statewide.

You can check our homepage regularly for updates on what data we are adding next.

And, if you have a suggestion for a database you would like to see available on UtahsRight.com, please email us at webmaster@utahsright.com

(3) Is this information public?
Yes, all of it is public information gathered or generated by a government entity.

Everything that appears on UtahsRight.com has already been released by government agencies, or has been obtained with official public-records requests filed directly with government agencies that maintain the records in question. Where Utah agencies are involved, this data usually is obtained under the state Government Records Access and Management Act, also known as GRAMA.

(4) I found a name I recognize in the public-salary / criminal charges / DUI charges / divorce settlement database, but I'm not sure it's the right person. What should I do?
DO NOT assume it's the right person.

False name matches are common, and finding a familiar name in these databases DOES NOT constitute positive identification. Users are urged to find independent confirmation of any findings drawn from these records. Complete records, which often include birthdates and addresses, are available at courts offices.

(5) Criminal charges once were filed against me but later dropped / expunged. Will they show up in your criminal charges database?
No. Charges labeled as "dismissed," "plea in abeyance," and those subject to diversion agreements ARE NOT listed in our criminal charges database.

(6) Do you list names and salaries of government workers in Utah?
Yes. UtahsRight.com and The Tribune are seeking and posting the salaries of public officials at all levels of government in Utah, including cities, counties, state government, school districts, higher education, transit districts, special service districts, and other agencies that use taxpayer funds. The vast majority of these agencies have either complied with our requests or are in the process of doing so.

Government agencies have provided their data in a variety of formats and levels of detail, but records in the databases in nearly all cases include current salaries of officials by name, from the highest paid to part-time and entry-level workers.

Click here to explore our public salary search page.

(7) I'm a public employee and I have a compelling reason why I believe my salary information shouldn't be published. What can I do?
State-records laws in Utah clearly classify public-employee salary data as public information. It is UtahsRight.com and The Tribune's belief that publishing it in a complete form and even-handed manner, furthers our mission of educating the public on the details of how government agencies allocate tax dollars.

However, names may be deleted in extremely rare instances. Examples include government jobs that require confidentiality, such as undercover law enforcement officers; situations where the person is confirmed to no longer work for the agency in question; or where listing a name creates direct and demonstrable threat to personal security.

If you have a concern, we invite you to contact us at webmaster@utahsright.com

(8) What can I do if I find incorrect or out-of-date information in one of your databases?
Databases are published on UtahsRight.com "as is," in the form in which they are provided to us by the government agencies in question. UtahsRight.com makes no representation, expressed or implied, that all information is accurate.

If you see something you believe is incorrect, please let us know as soon as possible, at webmaster@utahsright.com. We will work swiftly to correct any mistakes brought to our attention

(9) Why is my city / county / school district not included in the public salary database?
UtahsRight.com is seeking salary data from all cities, counties, school districts, state government and other public agencies.

If the data you seek is not posted here, there could be one of a couple of reasons.

The government agency in question may have asked for additional time to compile our request. The data may have been provided in non-electronic form and posting it has required scanning or manual entry, or it may have been partial data and we are working with the agency for a more complete report.

Or, in very rare circumstances, the government agency has delayed or declined to agree to our GRAMA request and The Tribune's has filed an administrative appeal in the case.

On our homepage, we offer a regularly updated list of the latest databases we've posted and of those coming soon.

(10) What happens if I find inappropriate material on the discussion forum?
Please let us know immediately, at webmaster@utahsright.com. If the material violates our policy, we will delete it.