Want to know the average number of car trips each day from 1100 to 1200 Alta Loma Drive? Curious about who’s filming today at 603 La Cienega Blvd.? Want to know the name of the sculptor whose work is installed at 1006 Carol Drive? (The answers? 1,461, CMS Productions and Elena Irving).
Now you can find the answers to those questions and many, many more at Data.WeHo.org, a website created by the City of West Hollywood to give its residents easy access to information.
That information includes the names of (and the overall number of) business with regulatory licenses in areas such as valet parking, entertainment and serving alcohol. It includes the city budget, broken down by various categories. It includes the names of people and businesses with whom the city has contracted for various services (however it doesn’t include what they are paid).
In its announcement of the open data site, the city said it hopes it will increase public participation in civic activities. Also, “the City of West Hollywood hopes that accessible, usable data will drive efficiency, assist businesses, improve public services and provide entrepreneurs with the information they need to propose projects or create apps to serve the community.” Those might include apps that provide information on restaurant inspection ratings, bicycle-friendly routes and public art guides.
The U.S. City Open Data Census lists West Hollywood as No. 40 on its list of cities in America that make information available online. The city’s ranking is based on the fact that information such as the city budget, restaurant inspections, property tax assessments, property deeds, business licenses, city spending and procurement contracts is available on the city’s website or other sites such as that managed by the L.A. County Assessor. Other areas that figure in the census ranking but aren’t available online for West Hollywood are crime information, construction permits, campaign finance contributions, code enforcement violations and lobbyist activity.
“In West Hollywood, innovation is in our DNA,” said Mayor Lindsey Horvath. “As a city, we are deeply committed to the highest level of innovation. The city’s new open data site is an exciting milestone — we’re embracing new technologies that help strengthen and support transparency in local government.”
West Hollywood’s open data portal is powered by Socrata. It provides easily accessible information in a user-friendly format. Icons direct site visitors to data sets about city budgets, contracts, filming, the arts, business licensing, capital improvement projects, parking, traffic, housing, and much and more.
The open data portal is the latest in a series of technological ventures by the city. In 2015, the city released its first-ever WeHoX Innovations Annual Report, which examines the city’s recent civic innovation programs. The report, which is available for download at www.wehox.org, introduces new initiatives to enhance citizen satisfaction and engagement, increase efficiency and transparency, and promote the city’s innovations economy. The city, in 2015, also launched its West Hollywood Official City App, which includes a variety of features and functions to help connect West Hollywood residents and businesses to City Hall. The app is available for download for iPhone users on the App Store and for Android users on Google Play.
Why doesn’t this include salary information for city employees, probably the biggest expenditure in the city’s budget? Why doesn’t this include a line item detailing how much the ridiculous sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuits are costing (another boneheaded backfire by the city). Why doesn’t it include how much the former HR people that the city decided it needed to bring back at an hourly rate to figure out how to deal with the unions? And I can’t find anything about the city’s contract with the sheriff’s. Especially since crime seems out of control between the muggings and all the… Read more »