NEW SERIES: Local Government and the People
Over the past year, government transparency has been a significant issue in the greater Fredericksburg area. Debates over how easy it is to find information, and how forthcoming local governments are about information citizens need to know have erupted at meetings in both Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, as well as Fredericksburg city. This leads to an important question: What does a truly transparent government look like?
In this new series from F2S, we tackle that question by examining transparency from two directions.
First - Can Citizens Access Information?: The first place most citizens look for information about their local governments is online with Google search. We decided to put a simple question in Google search (What’s happening in Fredericksburg City government) to see what would surface regarding government actions, plans, and key documents, and how easy they are to find. We look at what emerges, how easy the information is to navigate, and ask some basic questions about what’s missing and what could be better.
Second - Do Governments Actively Engage Their Citizens?: While citizens have an obligation to research their government bodies, it’s also important that governments reach out beyond the internet to engage their citizens and encourage them to get involved. Part 2 of this report will look at local governments’ outreach efforts, and explore how effective they are. To accomplish this, we need your help. Send your thoughts about government outreach (that isn’t web-based) to us at editoratF2S@gmail.com. This second part will run later this summer.
We begin our Part I series by examining Fredericksburg, followed by Spotsylvania and then Stafford counties.
We will begin Part II this June.
Local Government’s accessibility in Fredericksburg
At recent council meetings, questions have emerged about how effectively Fredericksburg City government reaches out to its citizens. In Part I of our series, we’ll begin by exploring how easy or difficult it is for people to find basic information about the city and city government doing a simple Google search.
People are more likely to turn to Google Search to find answers, as opposed to going directly to the city website. (This assumption is based on studies of other municipal websites - we have no insights into how much of Fredericksburg’s web traffic is from organic search and how much from people going directly to the site.)
Google searches are only as effective as the information they have to pull from. How Google indexes information and prioritizes information in its search results is a closely guarded secret, and in fact changes all the time. But savvy web designers know the general guidelines they must follow to rank high in Google. If sites are properly designed, Google will capture that information and deliver good results to those searching. A poorly designed site will not return good results in Google search.
F2S explores the city of Fredericksburg’s site by asking some basic questions and seeing what Google Search returns. An analysis of our work follows.
Exploring City Government
To test how Fredericksburg city government performs in Google Search, we entered a common search term people use to explore Fredericksburg’s government: “What's happening in Fredericksburg City Government.”
The top five results, and what they point readers to, were as follows:
Fredericksburgva.gov
The city’s main page provides a wealth of information that every citizen needs to know.
The main navigation bar across the top includes a useful “Community” drop-down menu that has information for new residents, a quick link to online payments, how to get involved in city council meetings and other government bodies. Most important, however, is arguably the “Report a Concern, Comment, Compliment” link that directs visitors to all the government’s major officials and departments.
Just below in a blue box are links to maps, online payments, the city budget, city council, public information about public meetings and documents, and more.
And all that is followed by an easy-to-follow calendar of government events and meetings.
Citizens, in short, can in two, and no more than three, clicks from the city’s main splash page find the vast majority of information they will need, including how to do basic tasks, when meetings are held, and who to contact in the city with questions and complaints.
Upcoming Events | Fredericksburg
A city page highlighting the city’s Parks, Recreation, and Events department, you’ll find information on popular programs like Picnic in the Park, Fourth in Fredericksburg, Veterans Day Events, and the city’s popular Christmas Parade. No information on government processes and policies here - but for families in the city, this is a must-see page.
Departments | Fredericksburg
This page includes brief descriptions and links to 23 of the city’s departments, including the city attorney, city manager, police, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, social services, and more. Much of this information can also be referenced on the city’s homepage. This level of redundancy is must desired, ensuring that citizens can easily find what they need by providing access through several pathways.
Events | Fredericksburg
Another page of the Parks, Recreation, and Events department, this page includes links to the event calendar, information for planning special events like block parties, links to resident notification programs, most notably FredAlert.com. A quick link to FredAlert.com is not on the city’s main web page and would be a welcome addition.
Calendar | Fredericksburg | Civic Engage
A master calendar and list of upcoming meetings (Architectural Review Board, City Council, Economic Development, and Planning Commission), plus other events in the city.
Exploring City Government - Bottom Line
The city has done a good job ensuring that through a simple Google web search, people can quickly access the city’s main page and get a wealth of information quickly.
The city’s main splash page provides a wealth of information that is likely to answer most of the questions people have without having to click more than two or three times to get it.
Exploring Upcoming Meetings
While the city does a great job of making it easy for citizens to find the information they need to live, work, and play in the city, as well as contact their representatives, finding detailed information about government meetings (agendas) requires a slightly more in-depth search. Google “Fredericksburg City Council Meeting,” and the second link that appears is Agenda Center.
This is by far the most important link for those who want to closely follow the details of what’s happening in the city government.
In addition to the agenda for city council meetings, for example, you’ll also be able to access pre-filed documents that will be referenced in the meeting. This allows citizens to come to meetings informed and well-armed if they wish to address council in support of or to express concerns about items being considered.
Go-to items for the upcoming meeting on April 11, for example, include:
City Manager’s Report
Minutes of the previous meeting
Consent Agenda Documents
Bottom Line for Exploring Upcoming Meetings
If you’re looking specifically for information to be discussed in the upcoming city council meeting and Google “Fredericksburg city council meeting,” you’ll find what you want pretty quickly. Enter a more generic search term, like “Fredericksburg city council,” and you’ll find what you’re looking for, but you will have to click through a few more links to get what you want. Still, all told, the average person should be able to find what they want.
The city might want to consider improving access to this critical information, however. If people happen to find the calendar referenced above in the Calendar | Fredericksburg | Civic Engage section, or they click the link to the meeting on the calendar on the city’s splash page, they won’t be taken to the upcoming meetings link. Instead, they’ll be taken to another page that provides some information about time and place, but not a link to the agenda or materials.
A direct link off the city’s main home page to agenda items for city council would be a welcome addition.
Exploring Hot Topics
One of the hottest debate points in Fredericksburg right now involves Alternative Dwelling Units, or ADUs. Again, the city has done a good job structuring its pages so that the average citizen can find what they’re looking for quickly.
Google “Fredericksburg Va ADUs” and the first link that you arrive at is the city’s detailed explanation of what ADUs are, the Planning Department’s draft comments on the original ordinance, a series of Q&As, and a list of all upcoming meetings on the topic.
So at least for this topic, the city does well.
Yes … The Information Is There
In the list of best municipal websites that we reviewed before we began exploring Fredericksburg’s site, and searching for information via Google, the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was regularly listed as one of the best sites in the country.
We can understand the attraction - it’s clean (you don’t have to scroll off the splash page to find information) and attractive.
Call us biased, but we think the city’s site is every bit Chattanooga’s equal.
Citizens who wish to get involved, can. The information is there, it can be easily found most of the time with a simple Google search, and the city does a good job of being transparent with its information.
Of course, things can always be improved. And providing links to city council agendas somewhere on the city’s main splash page would be greatly appreciated for those who want to quickly get into the nuts and bolts of city government.
That’s a minor quibble, however.
Its web presence makes it clear that Fredericksburg wants its citizens involved.