MuniNet Guide Archive
Dover, Delaware
The unique look of Dover’s home page is the first signal that this is no ordinary city web site. A front-page listing of current local stock prices enhances the business-like style of this web site, which also conveys a sense of hospitality through welcoming...
Keeping an Eye on Lobbyists
In an effort to keep closer tabs on lobbyists, Hillsborough County, Florida enacted an ordinance that requires professional lobbyists to Hillsborough County Clerk’s Office web site includes lobbyist forms - both registration and expenditure - along with lobbyist...
Houston Launches New METRORail Service
Houston's new light rail service began operation? METRO, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County [www.ridemetro.org], rang in the new year with the launching of its METRORail [www.ridemetro.org/motion/lrt/railintro2.asp] service, a 7.5-mile light rail line...
Denver Among Top Picks for Big City Web Sites
Denver, Colorado (population: 554,636 ) Clean, crisp - yet still sophisticated - front page includes city news, succinct menu, and efficient search engine. There is a lot of info here, and it’s easy to find. Denver’s site offers more searchable databases...
Cream of the Crop Sites: 2003 Top Picks
2003 Top Picks for Big Cities, Cities and Counties
Grant Street Group have together launched GFOA Yield Advantage, a real-time electronic marketplace for the public sector to invest funds. Jeffrey L. Esser, GFOA’s Executive Director points to the new investment platform as one way governments can find...
Bond Market Associations’s Online Primer
InvestinginBonds.com, the educational web site designed by the Bond Market Association, has seen visits to its web site more than double over the past year - to 66,000 visits a month. The Bond Market Association says that the activity reflects “the growing...
Houston METRORail Brings Traffic Relief
Houston's new light rail service begins operation METRO, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, rang in the new year with the launching of its METRORail service, a 7.5-mile light rail line that runs between downtown Houston and the Texas Medical Center...
Financial Reporting – Top Picks for 2003
Our Top Picks for outstanding web sites related to municipal finance are highlighted in this article. We also recognize web sites that do a great job of making finance understandable to the general public.
Santa Clara Life Events Portal
A streamlined, customer-centric web portal now connects Santa Clara County, California residents, businesses and visitors to the County’s 55 programs, agencies and services. Almost a year in the making, this redesigned web site provides one-stop shopping for...
Merritt Research Provides Financial Data, Benchmarks for Public Sector Age
With the launch of its redesigned web site,) feature, users can search the database by sector, credit name, state or code, and then purchase individual credit financial and ratio reports in spreadsheet format for $50. Monthly observations, benchmarks, industry trends...
DuPage County Election Coverage Wins Our Vote
Last month, MuniNet Guide & Review reported that online coverage of state and local election results this past November was much better than it was four years ago. Here’s one local success story: David Davoust is president of Robis, Inc., the company that designed...
How the Muni Bond Experts Use the Internet
We recently polled members of the MuniNet Guide & Review Editorial Advisory Board - a group comprised of professionals who work in local government and municipal research - to see how they use the Internet to get the information they need to do their jobs....
Muni Web Sites Can Help Promote Positive Social Change
From promoting art awareness to preventing drunk driving, the Ad Council has been creating public service advertisements designed to elicit positive social change since 1942. The Ad Council recently introduced five new public service campaigns (see Sidebar for...
Superior Online Coverage of Election Results
In the four years since the last election period, web sites across the board have made great strides. Online election coverage is one area that took giant leaps over the past few years, now offering more and better resources than ever before. On November 5, voters...
Computer and Web-Based Instructional Programs Earn High Marks
If you went to school in the 1950s or before, you probably received a copy of the book ’Elements of Style.’ ’Elements’ was a staple of English composition classes, and taught a generation of schoolchildren when to punctuate their sentences and how to write...
Las Vegas Holds On-Line Town Hall Meetings
On July 30, Las Vegas residents with questions, concerns or comments about local traffic and road construction were given the opportunity to be heard - online. It was the first in what the City plans to be a series of monthly citywide online meetings via its web site....
Government Sites Deliver Customized Information to Online Visitors
We’ve said it before and it remains true: The municipal web site continues to evolve. The success of any web site is determined by many factors, but one key aspect is how easily online visitors can get the information they need. In the early days, most county and...
Since posting the Disclosure of Delinquent Accounts for Taxpayers on its web site in January 2001, the
Top Picks: Big Cities Based on the just-mentioned criteria, of the 10 largest cities in the nation (ranked by 2000 population), the following sites stand out among their peers. Los Angeles Front and center on the home page is “311", the City Services Directory. Its...
Peirce Sees Internet in Future of Municipalities and ’Citistates’
Neal Peirce has reported on state and local government since 1975 in his syndicated newspaper column. He has written several books, including “Citistates,” which was co-authored by Curtis Johnson. The 1993 book has spawned an organization called the Citistates Group....
Law Enforcement Recruitment: Online Job Ads Gives Increased Exposure
When the Hinsdale, Illinois police department is looking for job candidates, it is increasingly turning to the web. Deputy Police Chief Bradley Bloom says he finds “a significant advantage” to using the Internet to advertise job vacancies. While the village continues...
Foundation Advocates Privacy Policies on Municipal Web Sites
The majority of municipal web sites in Illinois lack clear privacy policy statements, according to a recent report by the Gryphon Foundation, a non-profit public interest group supported by a state grant. The report is based on findings from a survey that examined web...
Floridas e-Budget Pioneers the Online Road to State Budget Info
Within the past few years, we have witnessed a trend of increasing online financial and budget information. State, county, and local government web sites that include comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFR) and budget information are becoming more the rule than...
Misc Links
Big Cities (population greater than 250,000)New York, New YorkSeattle, WashingtonAlbuquerque, New MexicoChicago, IllinoisIndianapolis, IndianaSan Jose, California Smaller Cities & Villages (population under 250,000)Hampton, VirginiaGaithersburg, MarylandVancouver,...