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Municipal Government 181 communities win Common Cause Web awards
More than half of Massachusetts cities and towns were honored on March 16 by the group Common Cause for the accessibility of public information on their Web sites.
Common Cause, a nonprofit that promotes government accountability, began its e-Government Award program in 2006, when only 24 communities met the minimum standards. This year, 181 municipalities received the award.
“Many communities rose to the challenge and significantly improved their Web sites over the past year,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “By making it easier to obtain important information online, citizens will be empowered to actively participate in their local governments.”
Municipalities are eligible if they meet criteria that include posting meeting agendas, minutes of meetings, budget information, complete general bylaws, town meeting warrants, and town meeting results. Towns that include a year’s history of governing board minutes and agendas, zoning bylaws, community calendars, minutes and agendas for school committee meetings and other board meetings received the award with distinction.
Common Cause also released a survey of the Internet presence of all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Only 25 communities had no Internet presence, and Massachusetts municipalities have clearly spent a great deal of time and energy developing their Web sites to be more informative and user-friendly.
The following communities won the e-Government Award:
Agawam, Amherst, Ashburnham, Ashby, Attleboro, Avon, Ayer, Becket, Billerica, Brockton, Carlisle, Chilmark, Dennis, Douglas, Dracut, Dudley, Dunstable, Edgartown, Egremont, Essex, Fitchburg, Franklin, Georgetown, Gloucester, Grafton, Great Barrington, Groton, Halifax, Harvard, Haverhill, Holden, Holliston, Holyoke, Hubbardston, Ipswich, Lancaster, Lenox, Leominster, Lexington, Longmeadow, Lunenburg, Malden, Mansfield, Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Melrose, Milton, Montague, Monterey, Newburyport, North Adams, North Brookfield, Northbridge, Northfield, Orange, Orleans, Otis, Paxton, Peabody, Pembroke, Plympton, Princeton, Rockland, Rockport, Sandwich, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Sharon, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Southwick, Spencer, Sunderland, Taunton, Upton, Uxbridge, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wenham, West Springfield, Westminster, Wilbraham, Williamstown, Winchester, Woburn, and Yarmouth
The following communities won the e-Government Award with Distinction:
Acton, Amesbury, Andover, Arlington, Ashland, Barnstable, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Bolton, Boston, Bourne, Boxborough, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Cohasset, Concord, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dover, Duxbury, East Longmeadow, Eastham, Easton, Everett, Falmouth, Foxborough, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Hamilton, Harwich, Hingham, Hopkinton, Hudson, Kingston, Lakeville, Littleton, Lowell, Marblehead, Marshfield, Maynard, Methuen, Millbury, Nantucket, Needham, New Bedford, Newton, North Andover, North Reading, Northampton, Northborough, Oak Bluffs, Pepperell, Reading, Salem, Salisbury, Somerville, South Hadley, Southampton, Springfield, Sterling, Stow, Sudbury, Sutton, Topsfield, Truro, Walpole, Wareham, Warwick, Wellesley, Wellfleet, West Boylston, Westborough, Westford, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Wilmington, Worcester, and Wrentham
Municipal Government 181 communities win Common Cause Web awards
181 communities win Common Cause Web awards
More than half of Massachusetts cities and towns were honored on March 16 by the group Common Cause for the accessibility of public information on their Web sites.
Common Cause, a nonprofit that promotes government accountability, began its e-Government Award program in 2006, when only 24 communities met the minimum standards. This year, 181 municipalities received the award.
“Many communities rose to the challenge and significantly improved their Web sites over the past year,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “By making it easier to obtain important information online, citizens will be empowered to actively participate in their local governments.”
Municipalities are eligible if they meet criteria that include posting meeting agendas, minutes of meetings, budget information, complete general bylaws, town meeting warrants, and town meeting results. Towns that include a year’s history of governing board minutes and agendas, zoning bylaws, community calendars, minutes and agendas for school committee meetings and other board meetings received the award with distinction.
Common Cause also released a survey of the Internet presence of all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Only 25 communities had no Internet presence, and Massachusetts municipalities have clearly spent a great deal of time and energy developing their Web sites to be more informative and user-friendly.
The following communities won the e-Government Award:
Agawam, Amherst, Ashburnham, Ashby, Attleboro, Avon, Ayer, Becket, Billerica, Brockton, Carlisle, Chilmark, Dennis, Douglas, Dracut, Dudley, Dunstable, Edgartown, Egremont, Essex, Fitchburg, Franklin, Georgetown, Gloucester, Grafton, Great Barrington, Groton, Halifax, Harvard, Haverhill, Holden, Holliston, Holyoke, Hubbardston, Ipswich, Lancaster, Lenox, Leominster, Lexington, Longmeadow, Lunenburg, Malden, Mansfield, Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Melrose, Milton, Montague, Monterey, Newburyport, North Adams, North Brookfield, Northbridge, Northfield, Orange, Orleans, Otis, Paxton, Peabody, Pembroke, Plympton, Princeton, Rockland, Rockport, Sandwich, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Sharon, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Southwick, Spencer, Sunderland, Taunton, Upton, Uxbridge, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wenham, West Springfield, Westminster, Wilbraham, Williamstown, Winchester, Woburn, and Yarmouth
The following communities won the e-Government Award with Distinction:
Acton, Amesbury, Andover, Arlington, Ashland, Barnstable, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Bolton, Boston, Bourne, Boxborough, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Cohasset, Concord, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dover, Duxbury, East Longmeadow, Eastham, Easton, Everett, Falmouth, Foxborough, Framingham, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Hamilton, Harwich, Hingham, Hopkinton, Hudson, Kingston, Lakeville, Littleton, Lowell, Marblehead, Marshfield, Maynard, Methuen, Millbury, Nantucket, Needham, New Bedford, Newton, North Andover, North Reading, Northampton, Northborough, Oak Bluffs, Pepperell, Reading, Salem, Salisbury, Somerville, South Hadley, Southampton, Springfield, Sterling, Stow, Sudbury, Sutton, Topsfield, Truro, Walpole, Wareham, Warwick, Wellesley, Wellfleet, West Boylston, Westborough, Westford, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Wilmington, Worcester, and Wrentham
Written by Megan Devine
