From Sunshine Review
Charleston is the capital city of West Virginia.
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of West Virginia city websites
[edit] The good
- Building permit forms information [1] and zoning information is available on the website.[2]
- Agendas are available for City Council Meetings. [3]
- Information on bids and proposals are available [4]
- Audit reports are available. [5]
- The Mayor and city council officials contact information and detailed biographies are posted online.[6]
[edit] The bad
- Lobbying information and ethics is not noted
- There is no checkbook register available
- There is no information on local taxes
- There is no information on accessing public records
[edit] Public Records
The city has been embroiled since 2007 in an open records lawsuit, Charleston Gazette v. Charleston, filed against it by the Charleston Gazette when the city declined to honor a request made under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act for police time sheets and activity logs.[7]
The Charleston Gazette was (and still is) looking for records for 28 police officers after four others pled guilty to working at paid jobs outside of the police department while on duty.
A Kanawha County Circuit judge ordered the city to turn the records over and in September, the city appealed this decision to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the city must turn over the requested records. [8]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
