Evaluation of South Dakota county websites
From Sunshine Review
This page captures a snapshot of the information contributed by Sunshine Review users after they've studied the information made available on South Dakota county websites.
See also: County websites, state-by-state comparison, to compare what you can find on South Dakota's county websites to what can be found on county websites in other states.
[edit] 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 |
 | means that information was partially provided |
Check the Sunshine Review page about each county for more detailed information about what information is available on the county website, along with recommendations SR users have made for positive changes.
[edit] Comparison chart
Only 23 of the 66 counties in South Dakota actually have a website. Some key things discovered when measuring their transparency against the county website 10-point checklist:
- Minnehaha County has the most transparent website of counties in South Dakota, scoring 6 out of a possible 10, with 3 partials. The one area where the county offered no information was in disclosing whether or not the county is a member of any lobbying organizations, and if so, if county funds go to pay the organization dues.
- Beadle County fared the worst against the 10 point checklist, failing to score full points in any category.
- 19 of the 23 counties with websites gave useful contact information for administrative staff, and 18 of the 23 gave the same for elected officials.
- Although three counties scored points for posting the county budget online, no counties made their checkbook register available for inspection.
[edit] Counties without websites
These are the 43 counties in South Dakota that do not have a website at all. Given that, they all automatically fail at providing information to their citizens or any other interested party.
[edit] Correcting errors
If you discover an error in this chart or on one of the articles about a South Dakota county, you can correct it immediately or report the error.
