Redevelopment's early objections to the release of salary information is at conflict with city policy and practice, according to other San Jose higher-ups, and may violate the law. It's never been expressed that way to me. We have traditionally always released. We do believe it is required and we have always released it. Redevelopment's Forsberg confirmed that there is no policy against releasing the figures.
Public information is public information as far as the agency's concerned.
There is sometimes a reluctance, but not a policy. Forsberg said Redevelopment has no written policies or guidelines on dealing with the press. Local preservation activists say that for years the agency effectively locked them out of its development process by failing to give them advance notice on projects involving historic buildings. Members of the city's New Realities Task Force said they, too, had difficulty piercing the polished surface of the agency's public relations spiel to reach more substantive information. City Hall insiders say they've frequently had trouble prying information out of the public agency.