As media reports on Sunshine Week highlight lapses in government openness, the John Locke Foundation’s NCTransparency.com Web site remains an essential resource for North Carolinians wanting to keep tabs on state and local agencies.
The site, launched in July 2009, grades state and local government agencies (including school districts) based on the amount of fiscal information they make available online, along with basic accountability scores, such as school district testing information.
Since the site went live, a number of jurisdictions have contacted JLF researchers asking how they could improve their scores.
Everyone’s invited to refer to the site often, and contact city and county officials if your local government is not providing information that the public has the right to know.