Bills could take government notices out of newspapers
By JENNA PORTNOY
The Intelligencer
Government entities publish legal notices in newspapers - not necessarily because they want to, but because it's the law.
Bills pending in Harrisburg could take the notices out of newspapers like this one and move them to Web sites run by the municipality, school district or county government agency required to give public notice.
Newspaper advocates say the online posting would hinder the public's right to know, eliminate independent verification that public notice was given and it would be expensive.
On the other side of the debate are some government officials who wonder if the price of print advertising outweighs the benefit, especially as readers turn to the Web. The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania also supports electronic advertising.
State requirements vary for public notice of meetings, proposed ordinance changes, contract bids, elections, sheriff sales and other activities. In most cases agencies must advertise in a "newspaper of general circulation."
Bucks County Commissioner Charley Martin said he likes to tuck a newspaper under his arm and go about his day.
But, he said, he realizes people commonly access the same information on the go through their BlackBerrys or other handheld devices and laptop computers. The goal isn't to hide information, he said, it's to reach the most people possible.
"It might not only be less expensive, it might target and reach more people and it might be easier for them as a matter of fact," he said.
Michael Scobey, publisher of The Intelligencer, disagreed with Martin's assumptions.
"The current practice of providing this information in the local papers as well as mypublicnotices.com in fact reaches more local readers,'' Scobey said. "It is the most trusted news and information source."
Although the county and other government entities must abide by current law, Martin said they have a responsibility to seek out the best deal for taxpayers.
He recently suggested the county seek bid proposals from newspapers that could print public notice of the upcoming primary election. The bids will be opened in public Wednesday, and could have implications for other kinds of notices.
Last year the county spent $681,855 on legal ads. The sheriff's department spent most of the money - just shy of $600,000 - on notices in newspapers and the county law journal. The county is reimbursed for these costs by mortgage companies, banks and others involved in sheriffs' sales.
The total represents about one-tenth of 1 percent of Bucks County's $466 million budget.
The county's current search for the best newspaper advertising deal pertains to printed notices, not online advertising, which Martin sees as having some advantages.
Deborah Musselman, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, noted that print publications have been posting notices online at mypublicnotices.com since 1999 at no extra cost to the governments placing ads.
According to PNA research, she said, the cost of print advertising amounts to less than one-half of 1 percent of an agency's expenditures no matter the size. It would actually cost more for government entities to host public notices online because they'd have to upgrade their Web sites, she said.
David Baldinger, an administrator for the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition, recently told this newspaper that taking legal ads out of the newspapers wasn't the way to go, even though he appreciates the effort to save money. His Web-based group focuses on school tax reform.
"The public's right to know is paramount, and while the Internet is one acceptable method of advertising legal notices, if used as the sole means of communication it deprives a large segment of the population of vital information," Baldinger said.
Internet sites do not provide the reliable proof of publication that newspapers do, Musselman added.
"Public access to information about what your government is up to, and loss of the independent government watchdog," she said, "it sets up the fox to build and guard the henhouse. (It amounts to a) big government state agency stepping in and taking work away from free enterprise."
The cost of placing legal notices in newspapers recently prompted Upper Moreland School District to ask the state to waive the requirement. The district hopes to save up to $20,000 annually by posting bid-related ads on its Web site only.
The Intelligencer
Government entities publish legal notices in newspapers - not necessarily because they want to, but because it's the law.
Bills pending in Harrisburg could take the notices out of newspapers like this one and move them to Web sites run by the municipality, school district or county government agency required to give public notice.
Newspaper advocates say the online posting would hinder the public's right to know, eliminate independent verification that public notice was given and it would be expensive.
On the other side of the debate are some government officials who wonder if the price of print advertising outweighs the benefit, especially as readers turn to the Web. The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania also supports electronic advertising.
State requirements vary for public notice of meetings, proposed ordinance changes, contract bids, elections, sheriff sales and other activities. In most cases agencies must advertise in a "newspaper of general circulation."
Bucks County Commissioner Charley Martin said he likes to tuck a newspaper under his arm and go about his day.
But, he said, he realizes people commonly access the same information on the go through their BlackBerrys or other handheld devices and laptop computers. The goal isn't to hide information, he said, it's to reach the most people possible.
"It might not only be less expensive, it might target and reach more people and it might be easier for them as a matter of fact," he said.
Michael Scobey, publisher of The Intelligencer, disagreed with Martin's assumptions.
"The current practice of providing this information in the local papers as well as mypublicnotices.com in fact reaches more local readers,'' Scobey said. "It is the most trusted news and information source."
Although the county and other government entities must abide by current law, Martin said they have a responsibility to seek out the best deal for taxpayers.
He recently suggested the county seek bid proposals from newspapers that could print public notice of the upcoming primary election. The bids will be opened in public Wednesday, and could have implications for other kinds of notices.
Last year the county spent $681,855 on legal ads. The sheriff's department spent most of the money - just shy of $600,000 - on notices in newspapers and the county law journal. The county is reimbursed for these costs by mortgage companies, banks and others involved in sheriffs' sales.
The total represents about one-tenth of 1 percent of Bucks County's $466 million budget.
The county's current search for the best newspaper advertising deal pertains to printed notices, not online advertising, which Martin sees as having some advantages.
Deborah Musselman, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, noted that print publications have been posting notices online at mypublicnotices.com since 1999 at no extra cost to the governments placing ads.
According to PNA research, she said, the cost of print advertising amounts to less than one-half of 1 percent of an agency's expenditures no matter the size. It would actually cost more for government entities to host public notices online because they'd have to upgrade their Web sites, she said.
David Baldinger, an administrator for the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition, recently told this newspaper that taking legal ads out of the newspapers wasn't the way to go, even though he appreciates the effort to save money. His Web-based group focuses on school tax reform.
"The public's right to know is paramount, and while the Internet is one acceptable method of advertising legal notices, if used as the sole means of communication it deprives a large segment of the population of vital information," Baldinger said.
Internet sites do not provide the reliable proof of publication that newspapers do, Musselman added.
"Public access to information about what your government is up to, and loss of the independent government watchdog," she said, "it sets up the fox to build and guard the henhouse. (It amounts to a) big government state agency stepping in and taking work away from free enterprise."
The cost of placing legal notices in newspapers recently prompted Upper Moreland School District to ask the state to waive the requirement. The district hopes to save up to $20,000 annually by posting bid-related ads on its Web site only.
