Council signals consensus to boost Laurel Independent advertising to $45,000, add $6,000 for Voices of Laurel

At a May 14 budget work session, the Laurel City Council signaled a working consensus to increase the city's advertising contract with the Laurel Independent to $45,000 and to allocate $6,000 to Voices of Laurel, moving both amounts into the communications advertising line for the mayor and communications director to administer.

Councilman Simmons framed the payment as a contract for services rather than a grant, saying the city "is buying a service" that delivers a monthly insert to every household and arguing the distribution and community reach justify higher spending. "If you could cultivate a strong sense of community and identity within a town of 30,000 people for $50,000, I'd say it'd almost be a deal," Simmons said.

Several council members pressed for transparency from the Independent. Councilman Mills repeatedly requested a line-by-line breakdown of the Independent's finances and asked, "Show us the numbers" and "Show us what you're doing instead of just having a handout." Councilwoman Clark said she had received a digital annual report from Kit Slack of the Laurel Independent but not a city-specific accounting and urged a phased reduction in city support over multiple years as an option.

Director Sailor (staff) and other council members clarified budget mechanics: the mayor's proposed budget originally included $30,000 for the Independent (two pages of advertising); council discussion centered on whether to keep that amount, raise it to $45,000 (four pages), or go higher. Several members said the communications department could place the advertising and recommended moving the line from community promotions to communications advertising to make the expenditure clearly a purchased service.

Mayor (name given in the transcript inconsistently) recounted that the city had provided funds to the Independent in past years and said his administration has discretion on contract terms and on whether the funds are guaranteed year to year. "We signed the contracts with the Laurel Independent every year," the Mayor said, adding he had not yet signed a contract for the coming fiscal year and that advertising is discretionary, not a central city service.

Councilman Cole circulated multiple amendment options to produce a compromise and offered to draft revised language reflecting the council's apparent consensus. Clerk and staff emphasized that the work-session outcome is a consensus recommendation: any formal budget amendment and final vote will occur at the second public hearing currently scheduled for May 27, 2026, ahead of the statutory tax-rate deadline in June.

Next steps: Councilman Cole will draft the amendment to set Laurel Independent advertising at $45,000 and Voices of Laurel at $6,000 in the communications advertising line; the council is expected to consider the amendment at the May 27 public hearing before any final vote.