In fact, the money is actually being spent on a website redesign as there’s already an existing “website to foster greater accountability and transparency” in the use of funds covered by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 at www.Recovery.Gov.

So, why do we need a multi-million dollar site to report on how much money the government is spending, especially as we’ve already got one?

In an announcement from the General Services Administration, officials mentioned that the new site will allow “taxpayers to see where their dollars are being spent” but failed to reveal pertinent details about the deal where apparently only 59 companies were eligible to bid for the contract.

Although the Recovery.Gov site is supposed to create greater transparency, the management of its own redesign has certainly been surrounded by secrecy and too many unanswered questions.

As for accountability, it’ll be interesting to see how anyone justifies spending US$18million on a website upgrade.

UPDATE:

As it turns out, the contract’s price tag may be quite understandable if we take a closer look at the details:

1. The current cost of the redesign is only US$9.5 million. US$18 million is the total value of the contract including the possibility of an extension through to 2014.
2. US$9.5 million is still an enormous sum to develop a website when you consider that the technology licensing cost for UsaSpending.Gov (a larger site which tracks the entire Federal Budget) was only US$600,000. Using this as a reference, it may be reasonable to assume that a fair value for the project may fall in the region of US$2 to 3 million.
3. Further investigation reveals that there is a very tight deadline on the project, where the contractor has less than 60 days to deliver a finished product. OMB Watch explains that this could be a major reason for the high cost.

In view of the expedited timeline, the premium included in the project cost may be more understandable, even if it’s still unacceptable.

CCH Financial Crisis News Center

To follow current events on the financial crisis from the legal community, you should take a look at the CCH Financial Crisis News Center which may be found at FinancialCrisisUpdate.com.

This site is maintained by legal editors who state this about their site:

The CCH Financial Crisis News Center is intended to provide the legal community and others with news and links to vital information on the current financial crisis.

Recovery.Gov

Another site which is essential for tracking the financial crisis and the economic recession is Recovery.Gov. In the site, it states their mission as:

• Education: Explain the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
• Transparency: Show how, when, and where the money is spent
• Accountability: Provide data that will allow citizens to evaluate the Act’s progress and provide feedback

It goes on to say:

The site will include information about Federal grant awards and contracts as well as formula grant allocations. Federal agencies will provide data on how they are using the money, and eventually, prime recipients of Federal funding will provide information on how they are using their Federal funds.

To keep abreast of the latest developments, Recovery.Gov also lets you sign up for updates via Email and allows you to Share your Recovery story.

More: Who Benefits from the US Stimulus Package?