More than a dozen Centre County municipalities don’t have working websites. Should they?

Of the 35 municipalities in Centre County, 22 have fully-functional websites that often include officials’ contact information, meeting agendas and more. The remaining 13 are either without a website or do not have a functioning one.

Have these websites been created in compliance with Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, or were the made simply as a convenience to the municipality’s officials and residents?

According to Melissa Melewsky, the media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which the CDT is a member, the Sunshine Act doesn’t require bodies of local government to have their own websites — and there aren’t any laws on the horizon that would require one.

“There’s no state law that requires local agencies to have a website, and many do not,” Melewsky wrote in an email. “I’m not aware of any proposed laws that would require local agencies to have a website either.”

Despite there not being a law that requires a website, Melewsky says that having one can still be a key asset for a municipality to have.

So, what would stop a local government from having a website?

Any number of things can prevent this. For example, In Milesburg Borough, there is an official website, but it isn’t up-to-date with information from its most recent meetings in February and March.

At the February borough council meeting, a Milesburg resident asked why, calling the website “archaic.”

“While updating the site is definitely on our to-do list, we’ve got a lot things to get done before that — but know that it (the website) is on our long-term agenda,” former council president Pete DeLosa said.

Snow Shoe Township also has a website, but it hasn’t been updated since February 2023.

The other Centre County municipalities that don’t have websites are Snow Shoe and Port Matilda boroughs, and Curtin, Howard, Huston, Liberty, Burnside, Worth, Taylor, Miles and Rush townships. Snow Shoe Borough, along with Huston, Burnside and Penn townships, did not respond to requests for comment.

The other main contributors to not having a website can be cost, lack of web design experience and general lack of interest in one.

According to Melewsky, one of the most common reasons for not having a website though is if the municipality has poor internet access or broadband connectivity issues.

“Often, municipalities that do not have a website reflect the community they serve, where internet access may be deficient or unavailable,” Melewsky wrote. “Pennsylvania is not a fully connected state and there are wide areas and populations that have diminished or no access to the internet.”

But Melewsky said that if a local government can operate a website, it should, as the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

“Posting public records, meeting agendas, meeting dates, board packets, meeting recordings and FAQ’s can help keep the community informed while minimizing the work associated with producing this information upon request,” she wrote. “If an agency can create a website and keep it updated, it can also cut down on costs associated with Right-to-Know Law requests, saving time and public resources.”