A newly released study by Good Jobs First, a Washington D.C. based research group, ranked Ohio’s website that tracks stimulus spending among the nation’s top ten. The purpose of the study is to monitor how well the stimulus package is working and also to determine if states are providing the transparency and accountability that President Obama promised. To achieve this, the study concentrated on the detail, depth and amount of information contained within each state’s stimulus spending website.

It is promising to see that Ohio is doing an above average job in providing information about its use of the stimulus funds. However, the study also reveals that Ohio is lacking transparency in some of the most important measurements of success. Ohio’s website does not provide information detailing the number of jobs created by stimulus funds and also fails to compare where money is going against economic need. Since the stimulus package was designed to quickly create jobs and simultaneously transform our nation’s infrastructure, it is disappointing that we do not have the necessary information to measure Ohio’s performance in these objectives.

Please share your take on Ohio and its allocation of stimulus funds. Do you think the state is providing adequate transparency in the process? Is Ohio making the most of this one-time money? How could Ohio better leverage its funds to create a more prosperous future?