As Print Newspapers Decline, Townships Seek ONLINE ALTERNATIVES for Publishing Public Notices

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1 KEEPING RESIDENTS INFORMED As Print Newspapers Decline, Townships Seek ONLINE ALTERNATIVES for Publishing Public Notices The number of print newspapers has declined significantly over the last decade or so as more and more people get their news online. Clearly, the age-old model of publishing local government legal notices in newspapers is rapidly growing out of sync with our cyber-focused culture. BY BRENDA WILT / ASSISTANT EDITOR 36 PA TownshipNews FEBRUARY 2018

2 Alsace Township in Berks County recently advertised that a new zoning ordinance would be voted on at an upcoming meeting. The cost to place the public notice in the local paper was $1, The ordinance was not approved at the meeting, however, and needed to be modified. Consequently, the township had to pay a little over $800 to advertise the ordinance again. That s nearly $2,500 in taxpayer money to advertise two votes on a single ordinance. I would love to be able to send our notices to a central website for posting so that we could simply tell our constituents where to find them, Business Manager Kimberly Mallatratt says. Although the township dutifully posts public notices in the newspaper, as required by the Township Code, it still gets complaints from residents who don t see the notices or don t get the paper at all. PSATS has been working with various legislators over the past several years on legislation that would allow townships to post public notices on a statemanaged website, rather than spend valuable taxpayer dollars to place expensive legal advertisements in a newspaper. While many member townships favor such legislation as indicated by the number of resolutions PSATS members have approved on the subject over the years, including two in 2017 getting the legislature on board has been an uphill battle. A few lawmakers have proposed legislation that PSATS has supported, but none has made it to the floor for a vote. Rather than publish legal notices in print newspapers, which have declining subscriptions, many townships would prefer to post public notices online. Hard copies would still be available for those without access to a computer or the Internet. A more cost-effective solution The most recent PSATS-supported version of an electronic legal advertising proposal is Senate Bill 745, authored by Sen. John Eichelberger. SB 745 would amend Title 45 (Legal Notices) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to permit local governments to publish public notices electronically on a statewide bid and notice database that would be established and maintained by the state Office of Open Records. Township supervisors that want to post public notices on the database would have to adopt a resolution indicating their intent to participate and the kinds of notices they would be publishing. Also, all public notices that are listed on the database would have to be available in hard copy at the township office and on the township website, along with a link to the database. Townships would also have to provide to a newspaper of general circulation a copy of all public notices that are advertised electronically on or before the date when notices are published online. A township official or employee would need to sign a written certification that the notice was published electronically. As of December, SB 745 was stalled in the Senate Local Government Committee. PSATS Assistant Executive Director Elam M. Herr, who has testified before the state legislature several times on this issue, explains why it is necessary to provide legislative relief to local governments from this burdensome mandate. Legal notices are not free to local governments or subscribers, Herr says. Instead, townships shell out $80 to $300 for a 4-inch advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation, and more for bid and ordinance advertisements. These costs add up and continue to increase. A 2006 report by Penn State Harrisburg showed that local governments at that time spent more than $26 million a year on publishing required public notices. Townships of the second class, in particular, were spending about $3.5 million a year on legal advertisements. By 2011, a PSATS member survey revealed that this number had grown to more than $4 million a year. Lori Seese, planning and zoning administrator for Lower Nazareth Township in Northampton County, says that legal advertising costs the township I would love to be able to send our notices to a central website for posting so that we could simply tell our constituents where to find them. FEBRUARY 2018 PA TownshipNews 37

3 roughly $8,000 per year. What s more, newspaper deadlines keep shifting, further complicating the advertising process. We publish notices in two different papers, depending on the subject matter, Seese says. One is a weekly publication, and we must have our ad in a week ahead of the publication date. The other is a daily publication, and its deadline has pushed out to two, and sometimes three, days in advance. The newspaper deadlines can make it difficult to meet the advertising requirement if we need to hold an emergency meeting or advertise in a very short time, she adds. Granville Township in Mifflin County spends about $2,000 to $4,000 a year on legal advertising. It would be nice to use a less costly method of advertising, Secretary-Treasurer Lisa Swisher says. We have no control over the newspaper prices, and they are so much higher than they used to be. With social media and websites, I Municipal public notices are somewhat of a cash cow for print newspapers, which vigorously oppose the idea of posting legal ads on a centralized website. would think they could come up with a more cost-effective solution to this issue. Protecting precious advertising revenue Given that so many people live nearly their entire lives online, posting public notices on a website seems like a no-brainer, right? Not according to the newspaper industry. The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (formerly the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association) has vociferously opposed all efforts to allow local gov- 38 PA TownshipNews FEBRUARY 2018

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5 ernments to post public notices online, rather than in newspapers. It cites loss of transparency and the need to hold local governments accountable as the reasons for its opposition. Statistics suggest less noble motivations, however. The truth is that the newspaper industry wants to hang onto every bit of revenue it can. According to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Alliance for Audited Media, total weekday circulation of U.S. newspapers, including digital versions, fell 8 percent in 2016 the 28 th consecutive year of declines. The same report showed that total weekday and Sunday circulation for U.S. newspapers fell to the lowest levels since This overall decline in circulation coincided with a double-digit decline in advertising revenue. In fact, the Pew analysis estimated a total ad revenue for the industry in 2016 of $18 billion, less than half of the $49 billion that the former Newspaper Association of America estimated for total ad revenue just 10 years earlier. Opposition to this common-sense reform is simply newspapers desperate bid to preserve the status quo in a day where they are making more money from digital platforms than print while watching all other revenues decline, Herr says. If newspapers were willing to provide this critical community information at reasonable prices, instead of subsidizing a sinking ship on the backs of our taxpayers, we would be having a very different conversation and incorporating them into our ongoing advertising needs. Preserving transparency Let s not forget that those declining numbers in circulation and ad revenue have real people behind them. A Pew Research Center analysis of news consumers in July 2016 indicated that just 2 in 10 U.S. adults often get news from print newspapers, a 23 percent decrease from What s more, this decline occurred across all age groups. Compared with print, nearly twice as many adults often get their news online, either from news websites, social media apps, or both. Our townships seriously question whether publishing legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation is the most effective way to get this information out to their residents and conduct business in a timely manner, Herr says. Instead, they see residents and businesses turning to township websites and social media pages for information on meetings, budgets, bid proposals, and proposed ordinances. Despite the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association s argument that local governments want to stop publishing notices in newspapers because they have something to hide, the truth is that many townships are more transparent 40 PA TownshipNews FEBRUARY 2018

6 GOVERNMENT than ever precisely because of their online presence. A growing number of our members not only have websites but also Facebook and Twitter accounts to ensure that residents of all ages have access to information about their community in the format that s most convenient to them, PSATS Executive Director David Sanko says. This municipal march toward openness, transparency, and accessibility, however, is being stifled by an outdated law that still requires them to publish costly public notices in the local newspaper if one still exists, that is. To make the best of a bad situation, some townships have resorted to bundling ads to keep costs down. I do my best to combine all the advertising into as few notices as possible so the cost isn t astronomical for us, Kelly Peck, secretary of Bethel Township in Fulton County, says. I advertise all the meetings at the beginning of the year, I combine the reorganization notices for supervisors and auditors into one ad, and I make them all as short as possible. We don t have a local paper so we advertise in the one county paper that s published once a week, she adds. The newspaper is very good about publishing for us right away; they want the ad revenue, I m sure. Tina Bernarduci, secretary-treasurer of Pine Creek Township in Jefferson County, says the township would definitely be interested in posting public notices on a centralized website, rather than in the newspaper. I know some newspaper people will say that older folks do not use computers, she says. However, I know that many, many people do not get newspapers anymore either. I have been the secretary for 16 years, and I really don t think most people read the ads. For those residents who rely on print publications, Bernarduci has a solution to ensure that they are not left out in the cold. She suggests that the township could keep a list of those individuals and notify them by mail or phone that a public notice is available. I understand that it would still require time and cost, but it would only be for those who are interested and do not have access to a computer, she says. Townships certainly want to keep their residents informed, but as the number of print news options continues to dwindle, local governments will be forced to find alternatives. I realize change isn t easy, and I can certainly understand why newspapers would want to hold onto every bit of revenue, especially as more and more readers reject print publications in favor of online news, Sanko says, but all of us have had to adapt to this new age of instantaneous information. We must also look beyond our own self-interests and focus on what is best AT RISK! The newspaper industry claims that removing public notices from print publications will allow local governments to avoid transparency and accountability. The truth is that technology has allowed townships to become more transparent by making information available 24/7 on websites, social media, and other digital platforms. for our customers and constituents. In a budget climate where every penny counts, it only makes sense to provide local governments with additional, cost-effective options for public notices while preserving transparency and promoting access to legal advertisements, Herr says. These changes would cost the state nothing while benefiting every local government in Pennsylvania, as well as their taxpayers. It s a delicate balance, Sanko says. While being able to post public notices online would save townships money, it would also bypass some residents who don t get their news digitally. We re suggesting a solution that would allow townships the option to post public notices online but still make them available in print form for residents who wish to view them that way. F Our townships seriously question whether publishing legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation is the most effective way to get this information out to their residents. FEBRUARY 2018 PA TownshipNews 41