Government Records Web Site Grows By Leaps and Bounds

Press Release

OPEN SD, which went online Sept. 12, 2008, to provide state government financial information in a real-time, searchable format has grown immensely in the past year.

The popular Web site contains nearly 282,000 general ledger balances, records of more than 28,000 vendors who receive payments from state government, and the salaries and titles of 15,216 state employees.

"South Dakota citizens deserve to know how their tax dollars are expended, and it's as easy as a few computer clicks to find those answers," said Gov. Mike Rounds. "OPEN SD features a wealth of documents and is continually updated."

When OPEN SD was launched a year ago, it contained 106,000 financial records. That was in addition to 180,000 pages of information available at that time on other state government Web sites. The number of pages on all state Web sites currently is in excess of 405,000.

Files for the current budget, revenues, and staffing levels are available on OPEN SD, along with information on the state payroll, job classifications, and vendor data. The Web site is automatically updated; when records change, so does the information.

"OPEN SD has proved to be a popular, informative Internet stop," Gov. Rounds said, adding that the Web site logged more than 126,000 visits in its first year.

OPEN SD features financial information not only about state government but also cities, counties and school districts in South Dakota. It can be accessed at Open.SD.gov or through the state home page at www.sd.gov


Another relatively new state Web site is RecoverySD (recovery.sd.gov), which provides details about the handling of federal stimulus funds in South Dakota. It went online in April.

RecoverySD provides information about expenditures of stimulus funds, program certifications, and contracts that are awarded.

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