Common Cause Award Criteria
Ever wonder what the criteria may be to win a Common Cause Massachusetts E-Government Award?
The City of Methuen prominently displays the logo at the top of their home page (when the system is up).
Here is the criteria as published by Common Cause.
e-Government Award Recipients:
In order to qualify for an e-Government Award, the town or city must
post their governing body’s, Methuen City Council, Â agenda and minutes,
budget information,
general by-laws, Methuen Municipal Code,
and–if applicable–their town meeting warrant and results.
At present, 119 of 351 municipalities meet these criteria.
e-Government Award with Distinction Recipients:
In order to qualify for an e-Government Award with Distinction, the town or city must fulfill requirements above, as well as provide ;
archived governing board agenda and minutes,
zoning by-laws,
school committee agendas and minutes,
agendas and minutes for an additional board or committee,
and a calendar with all public meetings.
At present, the following 51 of 351Â communities meet this criteria:
Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Bolton, Boston, Burlington, Chatham, Chelmsford, Concord, Dedham, Duxbury, East Longmeadow, Easton, Falmouth, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Gloucester, Haverhill, Holden, Ipswich, Kingston, Lakeville, Littleton, Lowell, Marshfield, Maynard, Methuen, Monterey, Nantucket, Needham, Newton, North Andover, North Reading, Provincetown, Reading, Salem, Salisbury, Sandwich, Springfield, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Sutton, Tewksbury, West Boylston, Westford, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Worcester, and Wrentham.
Great start.
Now compare the websites for those 51 communities and see which ones just meet the criteria and which ones embrace the concept of open and transparent government.
Note: when the city website is back on-line I will provide links to each of the criteria.