Eighty-five percent of websites for the state’s largest area governments and school districts are failing to provide taxpayers with basic easy-to-find information, according to ratings announced Thursday by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Of 500 sites evaluated for the 2014 “SeeThroughNY Local Government Website Report Card,” 427 failed to receive even a passing grade of D, the center said.

Local municipalities and school districts in the Mohawk Valley region that were evaluated all received grades of F.

Among them were the cities of Rome, Sherrill and Utica; Oneida and Herkimer counties; the towns of New Hartford and Whitestown; the villages of Herkimer and Ilion; and school districts including Rome, Adirondack, Camden, Clinton, Holland Patent, New Hartford, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, Utica and Whitesboro.

The ratings, based on reviews of websites between July and September, evaluated whether they provided items such as contact information, spending data, labor contracts and public meeting records, plus the ease for locating such items. The top-scoring governments were Schuyler County, New York City, the towns of Penfield and Wilton, the village of Rye Brook and Clarkstown Central School District, the center said.

Locally, the Rome school district’s romecsd.org site received a total score of 53, from a possible maximum of 141. It got zeroes in categories for public information, largely involving Freedom of Information Law request details; budgets including current and prior; financial reports including audits; contracts including employees and vendors; and expenditures including employee payroll and general data. Its 53 points were generated from a possible maximum of 63 for contact information, public meetings, taxes and fees, and ease of navigation.

Rome district Superintendent Jeffrey P. Simons said that during the past five years, “the district has taken significant steps to improve our website to provide the public access to information on student activities, district programs and other areas including district fiscal information and district policies.” He noted “multiple audiences within the public that use our website — parents, students, taxpayers and employees.” Simons cited a “continuous effort by the district” to ensure that “the multiple publics we serve value the content of the information we provide….” The district also strives “to ensure that the tools to access this information are user friendly and easy to navigate,” he said, and “website improvement is a continuous and active process….” The district “will take a very close look at the factors that were used by the Empire Center for Public Policy to rate websites as we continue our ongoing efforts to provide the public improved access to district information,” Simons added.

Meanwhile, the City of Rome’s romenewyork.com site earned a score of 88 out of 146 potential points. Its largest shortfalls were in categories for contracts, 8 of 22 points; public meetings, 8 of 16; and ease of navigation, 6 of 10. Its strongest scores were in budgets, 16 of 16; taxes and fees, 13 of 16; and expenditures, 11 of 12.

“The city spends a lot of time and energy making sure our website keeps the public updated and informed,” said Mayor Joseph R. Fusco Jr. “We rarely receive any calls from constituents related to the city’s website. We are definitely considering adding new content, but it won’t be to appease this study. The focus will be to attract new businesses, residents, and tourists to Rome.”

Director of Administrative Services Brandon Lovett said the city needs more specifics on what would improve some of the scores before it could address them. He did note, however, that audits can be made available, as can union contracts.

“As always we are willing to work with this agency to better improve our website for the public,” Lovett said. The city “is embarking on a marketing study, which will also focus on best practices and ways to improve our website. After reviewing See Through NY’s release on the best websites, we will look to use the disciplines that make their sites the best, and apply them to Rome’s site.”

Oneida County, meanwhile, had no comment on the grade for its ocgov.net site because it had not yet reviewed the Empire Center report, said James Genovese, assistant to the county executive. Its score totaled 85 from a possible maximum of 146, with the largest shortfalls in financial reports, scoring zero, and contracts, with 10 of a possible 22 points.

Empire Center executive director Tim Hoefer said “we hope these standards will help municipalities do a better job of providing basic public information that will help taxpayers know how their money is spent, and how and when decisions are made by elected officials.”

The Empire Center is an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt 501(c)3 think tank based in Albany. It sponsors SeethroughNY.net, a transparency website that includes a database of government payrolls, comparative data and other information.

© 2014 Rome Sentinel