Evaluation of South Dakota city websites

Below is a chart evaluating the transparency efforts of South Dakota city websites.

Reading the chart

In the chart below:

	means that information is included on the government website
	means that the information was not provided on the government website
P	means that information was partially provided

Check the Sunshine Review page about each City for more detailed information about what information is available on the City website, along with recommendations SR users have made for positive changes.

• See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard

Conclusions chart

2012

In 2012, Sunshine Review rated the five largest cities in South Dakota, along with the capital city: Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, and Pierre. These cities averaged a D+ website transparency grade.

	Budget?	Meetings?	Elected officials?	Admin. Officials?	Permits/ Zoning?	Audits?	Contracts?	Lobbying?	Public records?	Taxes?
Y	4	5	5	3	6	5	0	1	0	1
P	2	1	1	1	0	0	4	0	0	0
N	0	0	0	2	0	1	2	5	6	5

Comparison chart

City	Grades	Budget	Meetings	Elected Officials	Admin. Officials	Permits/ Zoning	Audits	Contracts	Lobbying	Public records	Taxes
Aberdeen, South Dakota	C	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Brookings, South Dakota	C-	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Pierre, South Dakota	F	N	N	P	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N
Rapid City, South Dakota	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	P	Y	Y
Sioux Falls, South Dakota	C-	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Watertown, South Dakota	C-	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	N	N	N	N

All city ratings

City	Grades	Budget	Meetings	Elected Officials	Admin. Officials	Permits/ Zoning	Audits	Contracts	Lobbying	Public records	Taxes
Aberdeen, South Dakota	C	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Brookings, South Dakota	C-	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Pierre, South Dakota	F	N	N	P	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N
Rapid City, South Dakota	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	P	Y	Y
Sioux Falls, South Dakota	C-	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	P	N	N	N
Watertown, South Dakota	C-	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	N	N	N	N

Correcting errors

If you discover an error in this chart or on one of the articles about a South Dakota city, you can correct it immediately or report the error.

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Transparency	Sunshine Law | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | List of Towns | List of School Districts | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of township websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	South Dakota State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	South Dakota Supreme Court | Judicial nomination process | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations |
Ballot Measures	Ballot measures | List of ballot measures by year | List of local ballot measures | Signature requirements | Procedures for qualifying an initiative | Amending the constitution | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |