Seven Villages, Janet Joakim

The organization “Common Cause” has awarded Barnstable distictions for open government for our website.

Details from their website are as follows:

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.

This year, The Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government will be working to ensure that every village, town and city in Massachusetts lives up to its responsibility to provide information to its citizenry. At present, 90 municipalities provide the necessary information on the web to properly inform their citizens of what is going on in their town governments.

Communities receiving the 2008 E-Government award are: Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Ashburnham,  *Barnstable*, Becket, Bedford, Bolton, Boston, Boxborough, Brookline, Cambridge, Carver, Chelsea, Chelmsford, Chilmark, Concord, Dedham, Douglas, Dudley, Dunstable, Duxbury, Eastham, Easton, Egremont, Everett, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Gloucester, Groton, Harwich, Haverhill, Hingham, Holden, Holliston, Hopkinton. Hudson, Kingston, Lakeville, Lexington, Littleton, Manchester-by-the-Sea,  Melrose, Methuen, Needham, Newton, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Northampton, Palmer, Paxton, Peabody, Pelham, Plympton, Provincetown, Reading, Salem, Sandwich, Saugus, Scituate, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Somerville, Southampton, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Upton, Uxbridge, West Boylston, West Springfield, Westfield, Westford, Weston, Westport, Weymouth, Wilbraham, Williamstown, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester, Wrentham.

 The information posted includes:

• The Governing Body’s agenda
• The Governing Body’s Minutes
• The Town Budget Information
• The General By-Laws of the Town
• (If appropriate) Town Meeting Warrant
• (If appropriate) Town Meeting Results

24 communities qualified for added distinction for also posting their town or city charter, a document archive, school committee agendas and minutes and those from at least one more committee or board in the municipality, a community calendar including boards and commissions, and zoning by-laws. Those municipalities were: Arlington, *Barnstable*, Belmont, Chelmsford, Concord, Duxbury, Eastham, Franklin, Hingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Kingston, Needham, Newton, North Reading, Scituate, Sharon, West Boylston, Westford, Weston, Weymouth, Winchester, Worcester.