Evaluation of Maryland county websites

This municipal government-related article was part of the Sunshine Review website. Ballotpedia archived this article to preserve its historical content.

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My Government Website
Transparency Checklist Progress reports County website project County comparison chart City website project List of cities School district website project List of school districts

Below is a chart evaluating the transparency efforts of Maryland county websites.

See also: County websites, state-by-state comparison, to compare what you can find on Maryland's county websites to what can be found on county websites in other states.

Reading the chart

In the chart below:

	means that information is included on the government website
	means that the information was not provided on the government website
P	means that information was partially provided

Check the page about each county for more detailed information about what information is available on the county website, along with recommendations users have made for positive changes.

Conclusions chart

2012

This chart encompasses the 5 largest counties in Maryland: Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Anne Arundel County. These counties earned an average of a "B+" website transparency grade in September 2012.

	Budget?	Meetings?	Elected officials?	Admin. Officials?	Permits/ Zoning?	Audits?	Contracts?	Lobbying?	Public records?	Taxes?
Y	5	4	5	5	5	5	3	0	3	4
P	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
N	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2	0

2009

This chart reflects evaluations of Maryland county websites, which earned an average of a "C" website transparency grade in 2009.

	Budget?	Meetings?	Elected officials?	Admin. Officials?	Permits/ Zoning?	Audits?	Contracts?	Lobbying?	Public records?	Taxes?
Y	21	21	20	22	19	7	3	0	7	7
P	1	3	4	2	4	9	11	0	1	14
N	2	0	0	0	1	8	10	24	16	3

Comparison chart

Maryland County Website Evaluations (Performed 2009-2012)
County	Grades	Budget	Meetings	Elected Officials	Admin. Officials	Permits/Zoning	Audits	Contracts	Lobbying	Public records	Taxes
Allegany County, Maryland	A+	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Anne Arundel County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	Y	Y
Baltimore County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y
Calvert County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y
Caroline County, Maryland	D	Y	Y	N	P	P	Y	N	N	N	Y
Carroll County, Maryland	A-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	Y
Cecil County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	N	Y	Y
Charles County, Maryland	A-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y
Dorchester County, Maryland	C	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	Y
Frederick County, Maryland	B-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	N	N	Y
Garrett County, Maryland	A-	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Harford County, Maryland	C-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	P	N	N	P
Howard County, Maryland	C	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	N	P	Y
Kent County, Maryland	D-	P	Y	P	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
Montgomery County, Maryland	B-	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	Y	Y	N	N	Y
Prince George's County, Maryland	C	Y	P	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	P
Queen Anne's County, Maryland	C-	Y	Y	Y	Y	P	P	N	N	Y	P
Somerset County, Maryland	F	P	Y	P	Y	N	N	P	N	N	N
St. Mary's County, Maryland	B-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	P
Talbot County, Maryland	B-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	Y
Washington County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y
Wicomico County, Maryland	C	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	P	N	N	Y
Worcester County, Maryland	B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y

Correcting errors

If you discover an error in this chart or on one of the articles about a Maryland county, you can report the error by emailing us.

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