Nails It Once more, it appears that Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon is stepping out of the box and politely telling legislators it’s time to change the law on legal advertising.
Let’s hope more municipalities take the lead of Mayor Broullon and start questioning if it’s really necessary to pay thousands of dollars a year for legal advertising. Especially since there is now a cheaper, easier, and more reader-friendly way for the public to keep informed.
Not many people look at the cost of advertising those legal notices; actually, it’s doubtful how many people actually search to the back of a newspaper and read the fine print that costs all those dollars to print.
There is no doubt the public has the right to know and no doubt that everyone should be made aware of everything the government at every level is doing. It was Thomas Jefferson who first said a free press is necessary as a watchdog to keep citzens informed and involved in government affairs. He also said the press had an obligation to ensure accuracy in reporting.
But in the 2st century, there are other, more economical, more easily accessible, and more readily available means of the public being kept informed of every action its governing body is taking. Welcome to the world of official websites.
It doesn’t cost anything to go on to a borough website. Minutes are always on display on official sites, along with such news as where to buy a dog license or the date of the next planning board meeting. People can easily access all that information and more, without it costing a dime.
The law requiring legal advertising for notices and ordinances came about before there was an internet, before municipalities had official pages. Times have changed. And in this case, so should the law .
Let’s hope more municipal leaders look at the high cost of legal advertising in newspapers, see that its official website is a viable option, and write their legislators demanding swift action to modify the law to enable towns to save money, let citizens have access more easily to what’s going on, and quit relying on newspapers to carry their message.
For the most part, newspapers do not even send reporters to over their meetings on a regular basis. If a newspaper doesn’t care enough about what is going on in a community, why should the borough encourage its taxpayers to pay a newspaper …are there any less than a dollar these days?… to get their official word on action they are taking.
