interesting numbers on local govt

Kudos to the (Jeff/NA) News-Tribune for researching and publishing a wide range of statistics on the local economy and local governance. It was produced in a magazine-like format, entitled Snapshot, and included with Sunday's newspaper. (Additional copies are also available for purchase.)

David Mann contributed a supplemental article to talk about some of the numbers and to point to the larger publication. Talking with him yesterday, he said that they plan to write other articles on some of the more provocative numbers.

Statistics of interest (at least to me):
-2006 net property tax rates within Clark and Floyd County (p. 9)
-revenue generated by local airports in Indiana (p. 11)
-top employers in Clark & Floyd (p. 14)
-top salaries within city/town governments (p. 22)
-public school data, including per student expense and teacher salaries (p. 30)
-the cars we drive in Indiana (p. 37)
-gambling expenditures and winnings by type of game (p. 41 for casino; p. 42-43 for bingo, etc.)

Commenting on a few of those:
-With rare exceptions, the top salaries in our city/town governments are paid to those who provide fire and police services.
-These salaries vary greatly between New Albany, Jeff, and Clarksville: The Top 20 in NA make $77-99K; in Jeff, $60-81K; and in Clarksville, $46-56K.
-Apparently, we now spend more than $10K per student in Southern IN to educate students in our government schools. (The text is not clear on this, but I'd guess that this does not include capital expenditures.)
-The winnings/losses within various gambling ops varies more than one might expect, but I'll spare you the details.

Thanks again to the News-Tribune for providing this service to the community.