R.I. scores poorly for spending transparency online

A SCREENSHOT of the Rhode Island state government transparency portal. The state scored a D letter grade for the information included on the site and the functionality and ease of use of the site.
A SCREENSHOT of the Rhode Island state government transparency portal. The state scored a D letter grade for the information included on the site and the functionality and ease of use of the site.

PROVIDENCE – In a report that studied online transparency by state governments, Rhode Island ranked sixth lowest in the United States with a score of a 55 out of 100, a D.

The report was conducted by the Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group. The study examines the transparency websites of each U.S. state and grades them on the availability of information on government spending as well as the ease of use and functionality of the site.

Rhode Island was penalized for making only a portion of its checkbook expenditures available for download. The transparency portal – transparency.ri.gov/ – also was docked for lacking certain information on the state’s quasi-public agencies.

The Ocean State received no points in the study’s “Real World” test, during which researchers visited the site seeking specific itemized expenditures, such as itemized accounts of corrections on electricity, spending of public pensions on postage, or Department of Agriculture spending on motor fuel.

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Rhode Island also ranked poorly for transparency website usability features, earning zero points for having no subtotaling function, no multi-tiered search function nor citizen-accessible reporting. The state also lost points for its lack of inclusion of projected and actual public benefits in its transparency portal.

Ohio and West Virginia tied for the best transparency website in the United States, with scores of 98. Connecticut scored the highest in New England, tied at No. 5 overall, with a score of 93. Massachusetts tied for 17th, with a score of 80, while New Hampshire came in at No. 28, with a score of 73. Vermont ranks No. 35, with a score of 67, while Maine ranked No. 39, with a score of 63.

The report said that the cost of the transparency website in Rhode Island is about $6,400 per year.

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.

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