From Sunshine Review
Baldwin County is one of 67 counties in Alabama. Its county seat is Bay Minette.
[edit] Website evaluation
[edit] The good
- The current budget is posted[1]. Some past budgets are also available[2].
- Contact information for the County Commissioners is provided[3].
- Commission meeting information is provided[4].
- Some administrative contacts are posted.
- Zoning information is posted[5].
- Annual financial audits are posted[6].
- Current and past bids are posted online[7], but no full contracts are available.
- Tax information is provided[8].
[edit] The bad
[edit] Alabama Register Op-ed
Alabama Press Register wrote about how Alabama received some of the lowest transparency grades in the country, especially noting Baldwin County and Mobile County.[9]
[edit] Lobbying
- Main article:Alabama taxpayer-funded lobbying
The Baldwin County Commission has reported $290,000 spent lobbying since 2006 (see table).
Reported lobbying expenditures, 2006-2009 [10]
| Year | Amount spent on lobbying
|
| 2009
| $30,000
|
| 2008
| $120,000
|
| 2007
| $120,000
|
| 2006
| $20,000
|
Baldwin County used funds for lobbying in 2004 that totaled less than $10,000.[11] In 2006, the District Attorney of Baldwin County spent $40,000 on lobbying. [12] Including those numbers, Baldwin County has reported more than $330,000 spent in the last three years on lobbying.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
