City of Manassas Given an A from the Virginia Coalition for Open Government

City of Manassas, VA . . . In a recent survey done by the Virginia Coalition forOpen Government, the City of Manassas received an A on the report card.  The Virginia Coalition for Open Government is dedicated to the principle that self-government depends on well-informed citizens. The digital age presents unprecedented opportunities for government to provide citizens access to essential information. This report assesses and grades the performance of Virginia’s 134 counties and independent cities in providing easy online access to local government’s fundamental operating document – its annual budget.   The survey measured the following information on websites regarding the budget:     ·       How many clicks does it take to get to a budget document?   ·       Do the hyperlink labels for the clicks use the word ‘budget’?   ·       If a citizen didn’t know exactly how the government is structured, how easy is to navigate the clicks?   ·       Is the budget document the adopted budget for the current fiscal year, 2012-2013?   ·       If the current, adopted fiscal year 2012-13 budget is available, is it the complete budget?   ·       How useful is the budget document?   ·       Is the current budget available in the first page of search results from a homepage search box or via a website site map?   ·       Are there also links to past fiscal year budgets?   “The City of Manassas is working towards transparency and information sharing that is easy to access and easy to understand,” said City Manager John Budesky.  “In February, the City will launch a new website, which we help to better keep our residents informed.”   The City of Manassas received 47 out of 50 possible points on this survey on open government.  To read the entire list of localities and what they scored, visit www.opengovva.org<http://www.opengovva.org>.