Methuen’s web presence was recently rewarded with recognition by Common Cause. The Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government, run by Common Cause, has recognized Methuen as well as 71 other communities in Massachusetts as providing critical city information on its website. The Common Cause website says
The foundation of democracy is a government that is transparent in its dealings and a citizenry that is informed and engaged. These are two sides of the same coin: the more citizens are engaged, the more they demand transparency from their governments; the less transparent are the governments, the less engaged the citizens become.
As a Mayoral candidate some 18 months ago I pledged to overhaul and update the City’s website. It was a top priority for me not only because I use the web so frequently, but because I see great potential for a more seamless interaction between government and citizen. It also has the potential to be used as a valuable tool in our effort to cut red tape. Our website is at www.cityofmethuen.net
As you visit it please leave me comments or ideas about how we can make further improvements. We have coming soon an online permitting system, as well as an ability to fill forms out online and send payments via the internet for costs associated with those forms. What can we do better? I look forward to your comments and criticisms.
Bill Manzi.com 
Nice! Not only does government work best when it works together (great quote, Mayor Manzi) – it works best when it’s open, honest, and fair. Keep it up.
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so, um DJ, where does that leave you in whom to support for Mayor over the upcoming months…? 🙂
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I’m actually a staffer for one of the congressional candidates, leaving me with hardly any time to participate in this year’s local municipal elections. Also, I am entering my first year of college at UMass Lowell. Luckily, the congressional election is on 9/4, and the first day of class in Lowell is on 9/5.
When it comes to the Mayor’s race, I was the incumbent’s intern for over a year, and I served as his opponent’s campaign manager during her 2005 city council run – I don’t think that taking an active, public role would be a good thing for me to do. It puts me in a terrible place – being forced into picking favorites. It’s something that I can’t do. I know who I’m supporting, and that candidate knows who they are! 😉
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Congrats to Methuen, Mayor Manzi and the administrator of the site. It looks great.
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Your Honor,
Are municipal employees, including teachers, in open negotiations with the Town?
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Jules,
The City side has settled 7 of the 9 collective bargaining contracts that were up in this fiscal cycle. The other two will be settled by July. The teachers are up next year.
Bill
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Your Honor,
My question was about the transparently of the negotiation and contract.
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Jules,
The Contracts are subject to ratification by City Council and are public documents, fully transparent.
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MAYOR, YOU HAVE MY ENDORSEMENT. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.
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Your Honor,
Thanks for the information re: transparency.
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