HOW DIFFICULT IS FOR A REPRESENTATIVE CITIZEN TO FIND THE LOCAL BUDGET

Transcription

1 HOW DIFFICULT IS FOR A REPRESENTATIVE CITIZEN TO FIND THE LOCAL BUDGET INFORMATION ON OFFICIAL WEBSITES OF 33 CITIES? The Institute of Public Finance gave a 16 year old student a task to try to find local budget information on the official websites of 33 cities in the period from 1 to 9 July The aim was to see what problems a representative citizen (henceforth RC) with no prior experience with budget issues will face and how easy/hard will be to find local budget information for RC. The simplicity thus explains how easy/hard was to find local budget information on official website of the city (especially focusing on the Adopted Budget). The visual explains the RC`s visual impression of the presented local budget information (e.g. lower for - small and cramped letters which are not easy to read). It might be that some of the information that our RC searched for did exist, but our RC could not find them, which only points to the fact that they are not presented well. The result of this Annex is not used for calculating the COLBI, it is only used for conclusions in our final report. The RC found local budget information for most cities. However, there was a large difference between the cities in how easy it was to find and view such documents. RC noticed three main problems relating to the budget information on official websites of cities: non-existance of direct link to the budget documents; lack of clear and user-friendly website design; and variation in the amount and the layout of budget information for different cities. DIRECT LINK TO THE BUDGET DOCUMENTS While many cities had a direct link to the budget documents, this was often not easy to find. For example, Slavonski Brod, Sisak and Rijeka all have a link named proračun (budget), but it is placed towards the bottom of the page, and the monotone colors or crowded presentation make it difficult to spot. Some cities do not include a direct link to the budget documents on the home page, and one has to attempt to find the budget through clicking on links that seem relevant for example: važni dokumenti (important documents), financije (finances), organizacija (organization) and gradska uprava (city government). In this respect, there was little consistency, and one had to use intuition to reach the budget documents. The effectiveness of this approach varied greatly across different official local websites. Karlovac has an excellent design, and although there was no direct link, the indirect one ( finances ) was easily spotted a natural choice when searching for budget information, and led to a large amount of well-organized and relevant information. However, on other websites, such as that of Umag, one had to first click on organizacija (organization), then pristup informacijama (access to information), and finally scroll down 1

2 to find a link to the budget (also not easy to spot). Organization seems arbitrary, and this way of accessing budget information is slightly difficult and not ideal. LACK OF CLEAR AND USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE DESIGN Lack of clear and user-friendly website design was a further barrier for a number of city websites. Certain cities budget documents could only be reached through using the search feature two such websites being those of Zagreb (Croatian capital city) and Vrbovec, and even following links from there on was not as simple as it should be. For example, on the official website of the City of Zagreb there is no single link for all budget documents for all years. Adopted Budget for 2010 can be found only under link INFO but other documents (such as the Half- Report for 2009 or the Adopted Budget for 2009) cannot be found. Even when you use website search engine, they cannot be found. Is it not it a little bit of absurd that the capital city have so little information about its budget? On the other hand, it must be said that there were a number of cities with well-designed websites and easily accessible budget documents. For example, Crikvenica, Kutina, Labin, and Rovinj all had a direct link to budget documents; presented clearly and in a noticeable position. VARIATION IN THE AMOUNT AND THE LAYOUT OF BUDGET INFORMATION FOR DIFFERENT CITIES There was also much variation in the amount, and the layout of, local budget information once one reached the relevant page. Karlovac had several budget-related documents for current and the last three years, while others, such as Pazin, only featured documents from last year. Varaždin had an both current information and an impressive archive of budget documents for previous years, but the unclear organization and layout was hard to follow. Many contained more than one document about the budget, but there was often inconsistency in what information was provided. Altogether RC concluded that there were a number of good examples, but also many websites that require improvement should one want to access local budget information more easily in the future. Karlovac s official website is a good example for those wishing to improve their website it was easy to navigate and find information, and there were many relevant documents available. Although there was no direct link that stated budget, it was still user-friendly and straightforward. Another thing to keep in mind is that while people who often use the internet may find the budget documents without too many problems, others who are not as familiar with computers and the internet will definitely find more barriers in trying to access these documents. This is important to recognize so to organize the website as simple as possible, because these documents are of interest, and should be accessible to, everyone. Details supporting this text could be found in the following table. Evaluations of the easiness to access and the visual impression are personal. 2

3 Table 1. Bjelovar You have to go to "some important documents of the city" (on the right), then to a page with different documents related to the Adopted Budgets. Perhaps it is a little confusing - the searcher will wonder what is meant by "some important documents" 7 no/1 click 2009, Crikvenica At the top of the page there is a direct link for the budget documents. If you float the cursor over it, a menu will appear where you can choose the Adopted Budget for the last couple of years 10 yes Čakovec In the local official gazette (no. 17/2008) the Adopted Budget for 2009 is presented. It is necessary to look in every number; the search engine does not help. It is fairly difficult to find, and at the end it is impossible to find the Adopted Budget for yes 2009 (for 2010 impossible to find) 6 Dubrovnik There is a direct link to the Adopted Budget on the home page. You have to scroll down a little and it is not found at once, but can be found very fast 9 yes 2009, Gospić Impossible to find the Adopted Budget 0 no - 6 Karlovac From Home with a single click (on the "finances" link) one can arrive at links to download the Adopted Budgets of the last 4 years. It is easy to find; on each page of the website on the right hand side you can find the link "finances" in the "info" column. And at the top of the website you can also float the cursor over the "city administration", and then a menu appears from which one can go to "city finances" 10 no/1 click Koprivnica Probably in the local official gazette. The local official gazette has no search mechanism, and one has to look at each individual issue to find the relevant document. 4 no - 6 Krapina A direct link to the Adopted Budget on the left hand side of the home page. One must scroll down a little, but it is easy to find 9 yes Kutina On the home page on the right hand side there is a direct link to the Adopted Budget. Easily visible! 10 yes

4 Labin At once on the left on the home page is a direct link to the Adopted Budget. Easily visible! 10 yes Makarska If you click on "city administration" then on "finance and budget department" you will arrive at a page about the Adopted Budget, although the budget itself cannot be found 0 no/2 clicks - 8 Opatija efault.aspx If you scroll down, on the right hand side on the home page there is a link to the Adopted Budget. It can be found, but it is not very visible 8 yes Osijek If you click on "documents" on the home page, links to some documents will appear - the Decision on the Execution of the Budget for 2010 is not among the first (although there is one document related to it). Then you can click on the numbers (1,2,3,4) to come to the next "page" with documents; the Decision on the Execution of the Budget is on the second. It is possible to find it, but perhaps someone who is not very conversant with the Internet will not be able to cope very easily 7 no/2 clicks Pazin There is a only direct link to the Citizens Budget of the city for 2010 on the home page. Scroll down, and the link is on the left, at the bottom, but easy to spot 8.5 yes Poreč It is only possible to find the 2008 Adopted Budget via the search engine. I couldn't find the budgets for other years via the links on their website. On the website someone had even commented that there was no Adopted Budget for the current year, and it would be a good idea to publish it 5 no Požega On the left, if one scrolls down a bit, under the subtitle "documents" there is a direct link to the Adopted Budget. It is fairly easy to find by searching; well organized 9 yes Pula On the left hand side of the home page there is a direct link to the Adopted Budget (title "work of the city administration"). It is not very conspicuous, and you have to look fairly hard, but is found quite fast when one searches 9 yes

5 Rijeka Rovinj ault.aspx inj/index.php On the home page there is a direct link to the Adopted Budget. It is not found at once, however, and one has to look rather carefully On the home page there is a direct link to the Adopted Budget on the left hand side. It is very easy to find 8 yes yes Samobor web/ Bottom right, on the home page. Easily found if the website is working - it happened twice, however, that the page would not render properly, and then it was quite difficult to find 8.5 yes (if it works! ) Sisak If one scrolls down on the home page, on the right there is a direct link for downloading the Adopted Budget for the current year. It is not findable at once however (and is not where the visitor would first think of looking) 8.5 yes Slavonski Brod A direct link on the home page, but difficult to spot 8 yes Split ult.aspx First you have to click on "city administration" (top) and then left "most important documents of the city". Difficult and complicated to find 6 no/2 clicks Šibenik efault.asp?cid=1 Firstly, if one scrolls down on the home page, there is a direct link for downloading the Adopted Budget. It is not to be found at once, but is fairly fast. Secondly, on the menu/toolbar at the top of the page it is possible to run the cursor over "documents", and then a menu appears, where there is a direct link for the Adopted Budget 9 yes Umag On either left or on top click on the title "organization" and then on the subtitle "access to information". When you come to this page, on the left there is one more menu, under which there is a link for the Adopted Budget. It is not ideal, could be better; easy to miss something 6 no/2 clicks 2010, Varaždin index.html On the left you click on "documents and forms", then on "budgetary documents". You have to concentrate/pay attention to find it. Medium easy to find 7 no/1 click Velika Gorica You have to left click on "finances", where there is a subtitle "documents". When you click on "documents", you arrive at a page where budgetary documents can be downloaded. Medium easy to find 7 no/2 clicks

6 Vinkovci Virovitica Vrbovec Zadar Impossible to find the Adopted Budget At the top of the page, there is a toolbamenu bar where if you float the cursor over "administration" and then choose "important documents" you will come to a page at the bottom of which is the Adopted Budget. Some time is needed to understand how to get at the Adopted Budget - it is not impossible, but could be easier The only thing to be found is the "Citizens Budget for 2007" via the search mechanism. Not very accessible The home page has at the top a direct link to the Adopted Budget, as well as a subtitle for "important documents". Very easy to find, but the font could be easier to read 0 no no/2 clicks no/search and then 1 click yes Zagreb efault.aspx The Adopted Budget is hard to find because the search mechanism has to be used. Even then it is necessary to go over several websites to find the Adopted Budget 4 no/search and then 3 clicks Zaprešić emu/index.php One link from the home page; you have to click on "important documents", on the left. There are two Adopted Budgets, for 2009 and They cannot be easily found because of the small and cramped letters, but can be found quite fast 7.5 no/1 click 2009,