Only a week after an Empire Center for Public Policy report gave many municipal websites a failing grade, New York state unveiled a new site of its own. Find it at www.ny.gov.

Check it out.

While the Internet can be blamed for a lot of things, a big plus is that it can be a valuable tool to help bring people closer to their governments. The Empire Center says most municipal websites — cities, counties, town, villages and schools — fail to live up to that potential. It examined 500 websites for contact information, spending data, labor contracts and public meeting records, and the ease of locating those items. (Read the report at www.empirecenter.org)

New York state hadn’t updated its website in 15 years. The redesign is a comprehensive makeover, offering a colorful, easy-to-read package of information ranging from finding jobs, starting a business and applying for licenses to signing up for health insurance, paying taxes and finding emergency information. And much more.

In addition, there are new templates to display alerts in case of a statewide emergency, and a section that highlights things like transportation updates, farmers markets and more. And there’s access to automated translations in more than 70 languages.

The website virtually brings state government into your living room. Access to information that once might have been a tedious process involving multiple phone calls and even letter-writing is now at your fingertips.

Use it.

© 2014 Utica Observer-Dispatch