City hall is a living metaphor for the way citizens and government exchange information. People visit their city hall to... View Article
Continue readingFinding the Leaders Behind the Data
We recently took a look at the wide variety of municipal IT structures in an effort to gain a better... View Article
Continue readingPay Attention to the Leaders Behind the Data
The branch of municipal government that oversees technology and shares information with the public plays a vital role in keeping... View Article
Continue readingBell, California: Moving From Secrecy to Sunshine
We can't keep our eyes off the City of Bell, California -- and for good reasons.
The city gained notoriety in 2010 when the Los Angeles Times began to expose high salaries for city officials who did next to nothing. It was a problem that had been brewing for years, as the LA Times charted in a timeline of the corruption.
Bell's government is different now.
Bell has most recently been in the news not just for reaching a culminating point in the scandal -- the trial of six former city council members on corruption charges -- but also for a high transparency grade as part of a government website review. Sunshine Review, a non-profit that examines state and local government transparency, gave the city an A- grade in the 2013 Sunny Awards. The grades are based on whether certain information like budgets, open meeting laws, and lobbying records are posted online, as outlined in this checklist.
This is one indicator of the many steps the city government has taken toward greater transparency. Bell's efforts are notable for several reasons.
Continue readingThis Is Why Government Should Use Open Formats
James Fee brings news of a dismaying decision by an Ohio court. A real estate appraiser named Robert Gambill tried... View Article
Continue readingSunlight`s role in the global open government movement
In the last few years, Sunlight has found inspiration from all over the world in the actions of different stakeholders.... View Article
Continue readingOpen States: Transparency Report Card
Today we’re making available our Transparency Report Card, a byproduct of the work we did in producing Open States. ... View Article
Continue readingNew Rule Takes On Pay-to-Play in Muni Bonds
Sunlight has long been an advocate for not only improved transparency of government institutions but also for thoughtful transparency measures that have open data standards in mind. Today we submitted a letter to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) supporting a proposed rule change that would give voters more information about who is trying to influence bond ballot issues. The Board is working toward improved disclosure of ballot campaign contributions by those with certain connections to municipal bonds. We applaud this step toward greater transparency on an issue that deeply impacts local governments and their constituents. Voters have a clear interest in understanding the context of the bonds approved for their communities. Investigative journalists have already used these kinds of disclosures to write stories like this one from Voice of San Diego, which exposed the trend of those who contributed to school bond campaigns receiving the contracts they spent money influencing. The improved disclosures MSRB is mandating will be available through the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) system, which is the free public platform for searching municipal bond information maintained by MSRB. Our comments also suggest the Board consider two more steps it could take toward 21st century disclosure.
Continue readingRecap: Open Data Day Boston
This post was written by Shauna Gordon-McKeon co-organizer of the Open Government Boston group. On February 23, Sunlight Boston together... View Article
Continue readingHow States Set Local Transparency Policy
Although we tend to think of cities as largely autonomous, the municipal context is really defined, and entangled, by the... View Article
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