Group says WV's Public Websites Lack Transparency - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

A new report has found that West Virginia's public government websites lack transparency.

The report, released by The Sunshine Review, grades each state's official state, county, large city and school district websites. The report looked at things such as budgets, contact information for elected officials, audits, contracts and public records, among others.

State website

The U.S. PIRG gave the state website an A-, citing its lack of information on taxpayer-funded lobbying. However, the state's site does include an easy-to-use search function, lists agencies and elected officials with contact information, a state employee phone directory, audits, ethics information, contract and tax information, lists of registered lobbyists and instructions and samples for public record requests.

West Virginia received 91 out of a possible 100 points in providing access to government spending data. That spending includes salaries and benefits for 117,327 people. Benefits include 12 paid holidays, at least 15 days of paid vacation per year, sick leave and insurance.

Counties

County websites across the state ranked poorly in The Sunshine Review's report. Jefferson County was the only one to receive a grade higher than C. Only 29 counties, slightly more than half, have county websites. Of those, 25 received failing grades and three counties — Berkeley, Greenbrier and Mineral —received Ds.

So what sets Jefferson County apart? According to the report, that county made available meeting schedules, names and contact information for elected officials and information on audits and taxes. Budgets and permit and zoning information were partially available, but contracts, lobbying and public records were unavailable. Hampshire County, which received an F, did not have any of that information available.

The five largest counties — Kanawha, Berkeley, Cabell, Monongalia and Wood — also didn't fare too well. The Sunshine Review gave each of those counties, except Berkeley, a grade of F. Kanawha, for instance, only had meeting schedules and public records fully available. Contact information for elected officials, contracts, lobbying and tax information were not available, and budgets, permits and zoning information and audits were only partially available.

The 27 counties that do not have a county website all received a grade of F. Those counties include Fayette, Grant, Braxton, Jackson, Ohio and Webster.

Cities

In addition to the statewide and county websites, The Sunshine Review also looked at the websites of West Virginia's five major cities — Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling. No city received a grade higher than D.

Charleston received a D-. While the city's site does make available names and contact information for elected officials and administrators, as well as permit and zoning information, the group said the sites lacked audits, lobbying information and tax information. Budgets, meeting schedules, contracts and public records were partially available.

Huntington, the state's second-largest city, received an F. The city's website either partially provides or does not provide information about officials, taxation and fiscal issues. It also was the only city reviewed that does not include meeting schedules.

Parkersburg was the only city reviewed that does not include any of its budget on the city website. It makes partially available names and contact information for elected and administrative officials, but does not include information on permits and zoning, audits, contracts, lobbying, public records or taxes.

Both Morgantown and Wheeling received Ds. Morgantown was the only city reviewed to include its entire budget online. Wheeling's was partially available. Both cities include information on meetings and provide the name and contact information for elected officials. Wheeling includes all information related to administrative officials, while that information is partially available on Morgantown's site. Wheeling also includes information on permits and zoning, and information related to public records and taxes are partially available. Morgantown includes all information related to audits, while information on public records and taxes are partially available. It does not include information on contracts or lobbying.

Schools

The Sunshine Review also looked at the websites of state school districts. All school districts in West Virginia, except Ritchie County, have websites. Of those 54 sites reviewed, 41 received Fs, 11 received Ds, and one, Pendleton County, received a C.

Only three school districts — in Raleigh, Randolph and Wyoming counties — posted their budgets. Information for audits was only partially available in Cabell County, but the 53 other school districts did not have that information posted. Only Hardy, Logan and Marion counties posted public records. Only Cabell County partially provided the results of background checks. No other school district provided that information.

Pendleton County's schools site provided information for taxes, budget, meetings, elected and administrative officials and audits. It did not provide information on contracts, public records, academics or background checks.

To view the full report, visit http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/West_Virginia.