Watchdog Wire asks citizens to audit government sites, report accessibility in Sunshine Week

In honor of Sunshine Week, scheduled March 16-22, Watchdog Wire, part of the conservative Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, is encouraging Americans to get involved in open government through a process that can be used by anyone with Internet access. The organization, which has news sites in many states, wants people to audit their city, county or township websites and send a blog post to Watchdog about how user friendly and transparent the sites are to use. Watchdog will post the responses on their site, and send feedback to local government agencies on behalf of respondents.

"Can you access budgets on your county website, or find contact information for all public officials? Are meeting minutes available? Is there a database of all public spending?" Rachel Swaffer writes for Watchdog Wire. "In our opinion, It’s the 21st century – and this stuff should be online!" Swaffer said the audits are surprisingly easy to conduct, and offers step-by-step instructions on how to use the sites, and what to look for. "Let’s make some noise about the state of government websites in America," Swaffer writes. "Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly – and we will feature your work on Watchdog Wire." (Read more)