State, local agencies need more online transparency

June 30, 2009

North Carolina state agencies and local governments earn poor marks, when it comes to making budget and spending information available online. That’s the conclusion of a 2008 John Locke Foundation Spotlight report.

“This state, home to national banks that update their customers’ accounts instantly anywhere around the world, woefully lags in making spending transparent at every level,” said report co-author Chad Adams, JLF Vice President for Development and director of the Center for Local Innovation. “North Carolina needs to do more.”

Adams and JLF Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti evaluated the Web sites of 22 state agencies, North Carolina’s 10 largest cities, 10 largest counties, and 10 highest-spending school districts. Each earned a letter grade from A to F based on the “degree of difficulty” presented to citizens hoping to find line-item budgets, annual financial reports, and information about government contracts, grants to non-profit groups, and personnel data.

This website is an extension of that report, and provides up-to-date listings of important government documents.