MOUNT VERNON — A change in state law could jeopardize transparency when it comes to informing citizens about government happenings.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 33 in July. A provision buried in the bill eliminates the requirement for municipalities to publish public notices in a newspaper.
Knox Pages Publisher Jay Allred said that poses a threat to transparency and an informed electorate.
Allred said newspapers essentially have had a monopoly on public notice revenue because of the way the Ohio Revised Code was written.
“The Ohio Revised Code defined a newspaper of general circulation in such a way, and the code was written in such a way, that only print newspapers of a certain type, of a certain size, and of a certain circulation could be eligible to receive public notices,” he told city council members on Monday.
However, due to changes in the newspaper industry, there are not many two-newspaper towns that meet the qualifications of the ORC.
Allred said the legislature could have opted for a simple solution that introduced competition into the market: expanding the definition of a newspaper of general circulation to include services such as Knox Pages, which has no print publication.
“The legislature chose not to go that direction,” he said.
Instead, the city has three options:
•Continue posting in the newspaper, which costs around $5,300 a year
•Post notices on the Ohio News Media Association’s website, which Allred said does not currently have a way to accept the notices
•Post notices on the city’s website and social media feeds
The city chose the third option.
“That’s going to let you meet the letter of the law, and I would encourage you to meet the letter of the law,” Allred told council. “But my concern is when I think about what is the spirit of the public notices law.”
When the laws were written decades ago, the spirit was an informed electorate: transparency and sunshine on the activities of government at all levels.
“The idea was that people should know what’s happening,” Allred said.
He noted that at the time those laws were written, newspapers had almost 100 percent market penetration into American homes. So it was an incredibly efficient way to get out information.
“You have a much more fragmented market now, and my concern for the citizens of Mount Vernon is very simple. If the city decides to only meet the letter of the law and save $5,300 a year, and doesn’t think about how might we use that capital to make sure that our citizens are informed of what’s happening, you’re staying inside the letter, but you’re missing the spirit.
“If Knox Pages makes a few thousand dollars a year publishing notices, that’s great,” he continued. “If you choose another route that reaches a wider audience than the city of Mount Vernon’s website, which admittedly probably has the smallest audience of all of your options, that’s fine, too.
“But I encourage you to think about the spirit of the law and why these public notices were put into place in the first place.”
Council President Bruce Hawkins said his concern with continuing to publish in the Mount Vernon News is its change in turnaround time. Previously, it was about three days. Now, it is 12 days.
“That restricts our time frame when we want to publish something,” he said. “If we want to do a public notice or bidding, that’s hamstringing this council and this administration as far as time frame.”
Council member Amber Keener said that in addition to online notices, council should consider something in print.
“Not everyone does the internet, and I think that is our duty to ensure that we provide as many options for informing the citizens as we can,” she said. “I think that print is still important.
“Whether we do that in conjunction online with Knox Pages, I think we should still keep that open.”
Law Director Rob Broeren said the legislation council is considering is designed to meet ORC requirements.
“Advertising that you would do with Knox Pages or Knox Weekly News or potentially still even the Mount Vernon News would be above and beyond,” he said.
“If council chooses to publish notices in outlets other than its website and social media, council would simply appropriate the money and go from there.”
Councilman Mike Hillier agreed with Keener about having a print option but was concerned about the low circulation of the options available.
“I question continuing to spend the money with the Mount Vernon News, but I don’t want to exclude the possibility of what’s coming with Knox Pages, Knox Weekly News, or any other publication,” he said.
Broeren said that notices placed that are above and beyond what is required by the revised code do not have to contain all of the language required by the ORC.
Council members gave a second reading on Monday to an ordinance amending the way the city posts public notices.