Government transparency is evolving as the internet makes sharing information simpler and more user-friendly. Local government, in particular, has become more open and accountable as residents can now explore the websites of all 351 Massachusetts municipalities.
Local government transparency has come a long way since 2010, the last year that Common Cause Massachusetts rated municipal websites. Back then, the organization awarded its “e-Government Award” to 180 municipalities that published its chief executive body’s meeting minutes and agendas, as well as town budgets, bylaws, and town meeting warrants (if applicable). Posting additional information such as minutes and agendas of other boards and committees earned a city or town extra accolades. The Town of Shutesbury did not make the list in 2010.
These days, posting this type of information on municipal websites is commonplace. Less often, municipalities follow the letter of Massachusetts law concerning the types of data the public has a right to access on their city or town’s website.
Public Records Law Requirements
The most recent Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law lists (on pages 9 and 65) several categories of records that should be posted on state agency and municipal websites. These items include:
Final opinions, decisions, orders, and votes from proceedings;
Annual reports;
Notices of hearings;
Winning bids for public contracts;
Awards of federal, state, and municipal government grants;
Minutes of open meetings;
Budgets;
Any other information deemed important and appropriate by the municipality.
This sounds like a lot of information to keep up with, but looking closely shows that much of this data is already commonplace on most municipal websites. A quick internet search of Massachusetts cities and towns will produce pages of results showing that annual reports are listed on most, if not all, municipal websites. The same is true of meeting and hearing notices, minutes of open meetings, and budgets.
Where some municipalities are less compliant is in the following areas: (1.) decisions and votes of the governing body (the law doesn’t speak to which decisions, votes and orders must be published); (2.) bid documents for public contracts; and (3.) a list of grants received from federal, state, or local sources.
Why are These Postings Important?
Posting relevant votes of bodies like the Select Board and Finance Committee conspicuously on a town’s website gets important information out to the public quickly and efficiently. This would be especially helpful if such votes were posted before approval and publication of meeting minutes (a sometimes lengthy process), though the law doesn’t speak to that issue. Many residents don’t have time to attend all municipal meetings and a “cheat sheet” on a town’s homepage would keep citizens informed.
Listing successful bids demonstrates financial transparency and informs citizens about significant local projects. Taxpayers have a right to know how and why public money is being spent. Publishing this information gives residents a level of detail they are unlikely to obtain from live meetings or meeting minutes.
Publishing grants received by the city or town should be a no-brainer. Doing so showcases the hard work performed by town officials to bring extra funds into municipal coffers. It is wonderful public relations for cities and towns that has no downside whatsoever.
How Local Websites Stack Up
I checked Shutesbury and a few other local websites to see how common it is to post votes and decisions, successful bid documents, and grants received by the city or town. If not immediately apparent, I checked the site index or searched the website to unearth these postings.
Shutesbury does not list any of the above postings on its website.
Looking at our neighbors of similar population size, Wendell also had none of the above postings.
Leverett, however, had votes and decisions parsed from board and committee meeting minutes available on its homepage. I used the search function to locate bids, which brought up snippets of minutes from various town committees. Sometimes a text box would follow these snippets and mention a motion made that involved a bid or RFP. There is no specific listing of bids or grants received by Leverett.
Pelham does not list votes and decisions on their website. I located a “Grants” page under the “About Pelham” tab. A “Procurement” page is also available though it simply states, “Nothing at this time.”
The Erving website does not list votes and decisions. However, at the top of the homepage is an “Open Bids” tab that can be used to find all open and closed bids from 2018 to the present. I had to dig a bit, but found a link to a page called, “Grant Information” on the “Administration and Select Board” page that lists all grants from Fiscal Year 2022 to the present.
Can our small towns do better at fulfilling the posting requirements of the MA Public Records Law? Yes. While a quick internet search shows that bid and grant listings are more common on the websites of cities and large towns, small towns can easily add this information to their websites. Keeping up should be relatively simple since there are fewer items to post in each category in smaller towns like Shutesbury. Making this information available to the public on a website will reduce town employee time spent responding to public records requests.
Meanwhile, interested citizens can access CommBuys, Massachusetts’ procurement system, to search for available and past bids in any city or town.
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