Carbondale, Illinois

From Sunshine Review

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Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois. It has a population of 25,597.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Illinois city websites

[edit] The good

• Has a complete listing of city officials and their contact information, including e-mails.^[1]
• Has a complete listing of the city administrators and their contact information, including e-mails.^[2]
• Post current budget and five year projections.^[3]
• Forms and applications for Permits and Zoning are posted online.^[4][5]
• An area has been allotted to post bids for contracts.^[6]
• Meeting locations, minutes and agendas are posted online. They have also been archived on the site for several years.^[7]
• The Auditor's report is included in the 2008 Financial Data report.
• Information is provided on how to file for public records.^[8]
• Information is posted on the role of lobbyists and the Mayor's role in solely representing the city, as well as disclosure of the employment of The Livingston Group.^[8]
• Tax information, including that no property tax is collected, is provided on the site.^[8][9]
• An online checkbook register is posted.^[10]
• Disclosure of their membership to a taxpayer-funded lobbying association, the National League of Cities.^[11]

[edit] Website upgrade

The website was officially upgraded to meet the standards of the Transparency Checklist in March of 2009. The Mayor, Brad Cole, said, "Open governance and accessible information are keys to building public confidence, and we are committed to a high level of accountability that can be seen in all our municipal activities..."^[12]

In April of 2009 the website also started to post its check register.

[edit] External links

• City of Carbondale website
• City data, Carbondale
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• The Southern Newspaper
• Carbondale Public Library

[edit] References

	v • d • e State of Illinois Springfield (capital)
Transparency	Freedom of Information Act | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | Illinois school districts A - L | Illinois school districts M - Z | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	Illinois State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	Illinois Supreme Court | Circuit Court of Appeals | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations |
Ballot Measures	2008 ballot measures | School bond issues | Procedures for qualifying an initiative | Amending the constitution | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |