The State has another website as a clearing house for information. So, why is one with spending information so problematic?
From the Pierre Capitol Journal:
College students looking for internship opportunities will soon be a click away from finding what they are looking for.
The Dakota Seeds program matches businesses to college students on a central Web site.
“It’s a place where an employer has a plan put together to offer beneficial learning experience to college students so they can kind of test each other,” Gov. Mike Rounds said.
The program developed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development officially kicked off Wednesday with 16 companies.
and…Rounds said funding for the program will come from federal STEM grants and minor state funds from the Department of Labor and the governor’s administrative funds. State Secretary of Labor Pam Roberts said her department is the backbone of the seeds program, providing the behind-the-scenes operation of managing the Web site.
Read it all here. The program was announced by Kim Olson, wife to Representative Ryan Olson and Economic Development Director for the State. Kim is a great gal, and I have no problem with this program. But, as I read about this and other websites that the state forms on a monthly basis to serve as central clearinghouses for information, I have to go back and wonder – why was it so problematic to do one on state spending?
Yes, on the spending web site I KNOW much of the information is available for the asking from a dozen or so individual places, and that the measure that was brought forth this last session wasn’t perfect by any means. But for those who were critics of it, I’d retort in reply – “where were your suggestions to fix it?”
The biggest criticism I heard was one of cost. How much does the state spend on the rest of the silly things? Good gosh, the state throws these web sites constantly. I wouldn’t be shocked if they were soon to announce a central clearinghouse web site to help citizens navigate through the central clearinghouse web sites set up by state government.
So, as we have the announcement of yet another clearing house web site, we’re left waiting and wondering. When are the taxpayers going to hear the announcement of one that matters to them?
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Comments
PP – I think you are right in a general way, but I have two thoughts:
1 – Job listings are something that everyone understands. The proposal for a website with all the financial information is a little more complex, because it would have to organized in a way that people could find what they are looking for and understand what they find. Alot of those financial sheets can be easily misconstrued if they are not explained – even by people who have experience – because of how the state does things. It’s certainly possible, it just takes more work. And BFM probably isnt the people you want to do it – they understand that stuff but may not be good at explaining it.
2 – The bill that Rounds vetoed, in particular, was problematic because it referred to various figures and requirements that do not exist in the State’s financial parlance. Once could infer what it probably meant, but the fact is it was a sloppily written bill. Should Rounds have worked with them to clean it up? I suppose he could have. But it could be that he never thought it would pass – remember, even Heidepriem voted against it in committee. It doesn’t make sense to put much into a bill that isn’t going anywhere.
I really think that the proponents of this idea got a blessing in disguise, because now they have a year to work with the administration to get something together that is doable and usable. And if the administration refuses to cooperate, they can always pass their bill next year.
This is an issue that people care about….money & taxes!!!
What’d it cost the taxpayers to create the SD made site? Dakota roots? SD long-term-care? Or, 2010 Initiative? Or, the ‘manufacturer’s director’ link? Or, the “secretary’s day speaking” engagement hosted by BOP?
What benefit are these things to the taxpayers? We could begin to understand…if we knew what they cost us.
Powers knows how to cut articles out of newspapers and put up websites. I seriously think the state should have legislated that PP manage such a site. In fact, why doesn’t the SDWC put one up???
1234, a bill to mandate the SD war college put stuff on the web! That’s a pretty good idea for you, actually. Pat, this could be your new calling!
Sorry, but I have to lump you into the Argus group on this one. If all of the information is available, and someone thinks it really needs to be in one place, why not go ahead and gather it all up and publish it on your website. Why demand someone else do it? No matter what it costs. Why complain that the Gov is hiding things because the information is not in the format you want it. I really wonder how many people in SD really care about this issue? Probably not very many.