A group of legislators sent a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle Tuesday expressing their concern over the lack of transparency in several state agencies, including all 26 UW System colleges, that failed to post information publicly online.

In the letter, Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer, D-Manitowoc, and Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay, said the “lack of compliance with the state’s Contract Sunshine Website law” is troubling.

The law requires state agencies to report information on contracts worth $10,000 or more on the state website to be viewed by the public.

According to the letter, while the law went into effect in 2006, only 14 of the 98 agencies, boards, commissions, councils, universities and colleges have bothered posting any information since the law’s signing.

“We believe that Wisconsin residents deserve to know what their tax dollars are being spent on when agencies enter into contracts,” said the legislators in the letter. “Every year, state agencies enter into contracts worth billions of dollars combined, and it is crucial that government remain open and accountable to the public for the tax dollars it spends.”

The letter also referred to a report by the Center for Responsive Law, which rated Wisconsin as one of the seven worst states in the nation for contract openness.

“The compliance was atrocious. The original news story showed us that the number of agencies complying with what we had passed was quite small,” Kaufert said

Reid Magney, spokesperson for the Government Accountability Board, said he does not feel there is any problem with the website.

“The website has been up and running for over two years. The problem is many state agencies have not put their contract information on the website,” Magney said.

Magney added many of the state agencies would prefer a system that would involve simply exporting their data and importing it into the system. The problem is the GAB’s system does not have that capability.

The current system, Magney said, is a major hassle for bigger agencies. Each individual contract takes approximately one minute to enter. For small agencies, that is simple enough, but agencies like the University of Wisconsin System have around 6000 contracts, which would take weeks to enter.

The GAB and Legislators do agree, though, transparency is necessary, and a solution to the current system must be made.

Kaufert said they decided to send the letter to Doyle instead of trying to pass another bill because they did not feel people would comply with the next bill either, and this was a softer, more respectful approach.

The legislators point out Doyle is the head of the Executive Branch, and it is his job to make sure that state agencies comply with the law.

Kaufert added he feels the reason they originally passed the law was because the state spends a lot of taxpayer dollars, and the taxpayers have the right to see where their money is going.

“With more transparency, citizens have more faith and trust in their government,” Kaufert said.