Belknap County, New Hampshire Ten Point Transparency Checklist

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5 May 2008--Below is the ten point checklist ranking how transparent and open Belknap County, New Hampshire's government is to its citizens.

The Ten-Point Transparency Checklist is a list of ten website accountability and transparency features that, ideally, voters and regular citizens in any part of the United States should be able to find online. Sunshine Review believes that citizens are entitled to this information in order to facilitate their understanding of the political process. Until these needs are met citizens are hindered from being able to fulfill their duty as an informed citizen.

Contents

[edit] Budget

Budget
Meetings
Elected Officials
Administrative Officials
Permits, zoning
Audits
Contracts
Lobbying
Public records
Local taxes
County websites


Belknap failed to show its citizens a thorough look at their finances including only a couple of past budget. There has however been talk by the city council of Gilford, New Hampshire, which is located in the county, of publishing their checkbook register.

Sites detailing some of the financial in Belknap:

For a full look at a "passing grade" for a budget see Budgets.

[edit] Meetings/Agendas

While many states have enacted Open Meeting Laws requiring prior notice and recording of meeting minutes for the county only had the following information:

[edit] Elected officials

The following are the links to contacting elected representatives in Belknap:

[edit] Administrative officials

The following are links to the administrative offices which have the contact information for the officials. However the county could expand and supply the following information:

  • Terms of office.
  • Governing boards and by laws for agencies.
  • Voter registration.
  • Conflict of interest agreement. While many states require employees to disclose potential conflicts of interest but its not necessary to make the forms available.

Administrator sites:

[edit] Ethics

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • Must have an ethics commission and guidelines for ethical behavior of officials
  • Process for reporting ethics violations available on web site.
  • Investigations and results of investigations posted

[edit] Audits (Financial/Performance)

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • Regular audits of state agencies and departments, including the Governor and the Assembly.
  • Audit results posted online
  • Scheduled financial audits posted online
  • Performance audits for state programs

[edit] Contracts

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • Rules governing contracts posted online
  • Bids and contracts for purchases over $10,000 must be posted online
  • Vendor campaign contributions posted with contract

[edit] Lobbying/Advocacy

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • Database of registered lobbyists
  • Agency lobbying contracts posted online
  • All grants given to non-profit organizations with reason for the grant and a contact in the organization responsible for oversight

[edit] FOIA

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • FOIA contact for every state agency/department in one central location
  • Department/Agency FOIA officer posted on Department homepage
  • Annual compliance survey performed measuring, # of FOIAs submitted, # Fulfilled, Average time for compliance, and reasons for denials.

[edit] Taxes

The following is not disclosed in the county:

  • Central location for all tax information, including state "fees" such as drivers' licenses.
  • Tax documents for all elected officials
  • Each agency discloses all sources of revenue

[edit] Other info

Other information provided by the county includes:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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