Committee forwards ordinance to broaden how Juneau meets public-notice requirements
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Summary
The Committee of the Whole voted to forward an ordinance that would redefine 'newspaper of general circulation' to include publicly accessible online outlets without paywalls; city manager said the change follows shifts in local media and would be implemented through an RFP, with current public-notice spending about $60,000 a year.
The Committee of the Whole on Feb. 9 voted to send an ordinance to the full assembly that would broaden how the City and Borough of Juneau meets statutorily required public notices.
City Manager Kester told the committee the ordinance would define a newspaper of general circulation as a publicly accessible source distributed in print or online without a required cost, and that the change is intended to give the city flexibility as local media change. “The way we meet the legal requirement is through the Juneau Empire,” Kester said, adding that the city spends “about $60,000 a year in that public notice.”
Kester said the city’s website currently does not meet documentation and verification standards the manager’s office would require for official notice and that staff would issue a request for proposals to identify a vendor that can preserve searchable, verifiable public records without paywalls. She named CivicPlus and Column as examples of vendors that provide municipal public-notice services and said the city would favor local outlets in the RFP process.
Assembly members asked whether the Juneau Empire’s subscription model would make it ineligible under the new definition. Kester said any future respondent would need to explain how it would provide public notices without paywalls or subscription barriers, and that the Juneau Empire’s print edition currently satisfies the requirement.
Deputy Mayor Smith and others pressed staff about budget limits for a new service; Kester said she would not want to spend more than the roughly $60,000 the city currently pays for public notice and expected competitive proposals.
A procedural motion by Assembly Member Kelly to forward the ordinance for introduction to the full assembly was adopted without objection. If adopted by the full assembly, Kester said implementation would follow through the budget process and an RFP to select a compliant public-notice provider.