By Mavuto Kalulu Benton County ranks second in the state in terms of their web transparency. Only Washington County ranks higher. This is according to the 2019 report, “Access Arkansas – County Web Transparency” published by the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) on December 20, 2019. Benton County’s transparency score of 0.762 reflects […]
County Transparency Online: Faulkner Rises, Independence Tumbles
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas media outlets are taking notice of the big changes in which counties rank highest for online transparency. Faulkner County climbed from 8th most online-transparent county in 2018 to 6th in 2019, while Independence County tumbled all the way from 17th place to 71st. These rankings come from the second annual Online […]
The Law That Makes Arkansas Counties More Transparent in 2020
By Caleb Taylor What one law that went into effect in 2020 will make county governments in Arkansas more transparent? ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed the benefits of Act 564 in an op-ed “A step at a time,” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on December 27, 2018. Act 564 The law requires all […]
More Arkansas Counties Get on ‘Nice List’ for Web Transparency in 2019
By Caleb Taylor Who made the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics’s ‘nice list’ when it comes to transparency in 2019? You can find out through the just-released second annual Transparency Index from the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, co-authored by ACRE Policy Analysts Dr. Mavuto Kalulu and Joyce Ajayi. In 2018 four counties […]
Should Pope County gamble with the transparency of its casino deliberations?
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu says no in an op-ed entitled “In public view,” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on September 20th. A proposed casino in Pope County has generated much debate between residents and state and local officials in recent months. Arkansas voters approved Issue 4 in 2018, which allowed […]
Another Arkansas County Embraces Online Financial Transparency
By Caleb Taylor Faulkner County is the latest Arkansas county to follow ACRE recommendations to increase their transparency and public accessibility. ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed his research on the benefits of transparency at a Faulkner County Quorum Court meeting on August 20th. Faulkner County Justices of the Peace were deciding whether to […]
How To Reduce Corruption in Arkansas
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas reduce government corruption? ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed solutions to this question and four steps officials can take to improve transparency in an op-ed published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on August 5th. Kalulu begins by noting the size and scope of corruption at all levels of government […]
How Can County Officials Improve Transparency?
By Caleb Taylor How can Faulkner County officials improve transparency? ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu discussed solutions to this question and steps officials have already taken in an op-ed published in the Log Cabin Democrat on April 16. Kalulu mentioned Faulkner County Circuit Clerk Crystal Taylor (no relation to the author) as an example of […]
Measuring Public Resource Abuse in Arkansas
By Mavuto Kalulu Public corruption exists at all levels of government. The impact of the abuse of public services may be strongly felt at the local government level because of the direct contact these government officials have in the provision of services. In Arkansas, for example, county governments are responsible for emergency medical services, fire […]
We asked all 75 counties for their budgets. Here’s what we found.
By Caleb Taylor How difficult is it to get a copy of a county budget in Arkansas? According to ACRE research published in an op-ed the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on February 15th, that depends on which of the 75 Arkansas counties you ask. Alexandria Tatem, a UCA Schedler Honor’s College student and an ACRE student worker […]