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St. Lucie County adopts ordinance allowing legal notices on county website; newspaper leaders urge continued print publication
Summary
The county commission adopted code changes permitting legal advertisements to be posted on a county website as an alternative to newspaper publication; representatives of local newspapers urged the board to continue print and statewide publication for reach and independent oversight.
The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners on May 20 approved code amendments that allow legal advertisements and public notices to be published on the county's official website as an alternative to publishing in a newspaper.
The change follows a state law change that took effect in January 2023 and gives counties the option to use a publicly accessible website for notices. County attorneys told the board staff analysis shows website publication will reduce the county's costs for legal advertising, though the amendment does not bar continuing publication in newspapers.
Two local newspaper executives urged the commissioners to maintain newspaper publication. Jim Fogler, regional president of sales and marketing for the USA Today Network representing the St. Lucie News Tribune and TCPalm.com, said moving notices solely to the county website "vanishes" the transparency and accessibility offered by the centralized statewide public notice site managed by the Florida Press Association. "If you break that feed and put those notices just on the county website, it won't appear on the statewide website," Fogler said, adding that newspapers provide proofing and an independent check for legal deadlines.
Adam Neal, executive editor at TC Palm and Treasure Coast Newspapers, said the physical newspaper and tcpalm.com reach readers who rely on the paper and its archives for local context. "These print readers are news consumers. They really focus on their community," Neal said, and noted that the regional paper's archives are widely used.
County staff said the ordinance does not prevent simultaneous newspaper publication and that some notices — for example, particularly sensitive or budgetary items — might still be placed in print. The county attorney noted that the change will provide administrative cost savings and allow staff to correct errors more quickly on a website than through a print schedule.
The commission adopted the ordinance after public comment and discussion. Commissioners also discussed additional notice enhancements already under consideration, including expanding mailed or posted notice radii for certain planning items. The vote to approve the first ordinance passed unanimously.
Ending: The county now has authority to publish required legal notices on its website; officials and media representatives said they plan to monitor whether the change reduces public accessibility and will consider maintaining print and statewide feeds where appropriate.
