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County staff recommends outsourcing electronic public notices; RFP to be placed on consent agenda
Summary
Assistant county manager briefed commissioners on new Florida statutes allowing web‑based public notices, RFP results and a staff recommendation to outsource; board approved placing the RFP award on a future consent agenda.
Assistant County Manager Melanie Koons briefed the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners on an RFP that would outsource the county’s public‑notice publishing to a digital provider, following changes in state law.
Koons told the board the statutes at issue are Florida Statutes 50.0311 and 50.041, which allow counties to publish required public notices on their websites instead of using print-only advertisements. She said staff’s earlier estimate of annual cost savings and fees remained roughly $70,000 annually for the county’s BCC notices and the tax collector’s delinquent tax notices.
The item matters because it affects how legally required public notices will be published and archived and how the county spends budgeted notice funds.
Koons said the county released an RFP in December, received two respondents, canceled and reissued a clarified solicitation, and again received proposals. She told the board that the number of Florida counties using web notices increased from six at the time of the September 2024 briefing to 18 counties currently using digital solutions. Staff recommended outsourcing and bringing an RFP award to the board on April 22.
Commissioners discussed whether cities, constitutional offices or the school board might join the program and whether the county could charge participating cities a reduced rate to offset costs. Koons said some municipalities had expressed interest and that the tax collector had shown interest.
Commissioner Constantine voiced support for the recommendation. Commissioner Lockhart asked about intergovernmental participation and cost-sharing. Commissioner Gallari and others urged staff to include a one-time or annual published notice in print that the county is moving to a digital platform, noting a statutory annual requirement to inform the public where notices will be posted.
The board voted to place the RFP award on a future consent agenda; the motion to schedule that consent placement was moved and seconded on the record and carried unanimously.
