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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.f. Designation of Official Newspaper ROSEI\40L11\flT SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Regular Meeting: January 2, 2008 AGENDA ITEM: Designation of Official Newspaper AGENDA SECTION: Consent PREPARED BY: Amy Domeier, City Clerk AGENDA NO. (0.C. ATTACHMENTS: None APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion to designate Rosemount Town Pages as th City's official newspaper for the year 2008. ISSUE All statutory cities are required to designate an official newspaper each year. All required legal documents and notices for the City of Rosemount will be published in the official newspaper. BACKGROUND Staff sent emails to Rosemount Town Pages, Sun Current Newspapers and Thisweek Newspapers requesting the following: 1) the cost per inch for camera -ready legal ads; 2) the paid subscription circulation or non subscription circulation; and 3) publication deadlines for use in considering the designation for the official newspaper. A breakdown of the requested information is provided below. Rosemount Town Pages In 2008 the cost for camera -ready ads will be $5.60 per inch; however, if an ad is not camera -ready the cost would be $6.30. Secretarial staff has been in the practice of sending all legal notices in a camera -ready format. Rosemount Town Pages has a paid circulation of 1,883. All publication notices are due to Rosemount Town Pages by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday for publication the following Friday. Sun Current Newspapers The cost for legal ads per inch is $6.39. The Sun Current does not offer a discount for camera ready ads but only charges $3.38 per inch after the first insertion. Since the Planning Secretary usually publishes multiple hearing notices, there may be a cost savings to the City. The Sun Current is a non subscription paper that reaches 14,771 residents in the Rosemount /Apple Valley areas. The submission deadline for notices is 2:00 p.m. the Thursday prior to publication. Since publication is on Thursdays, the public hearing notices or other publications would be due one week in advance. Thisweek Newspapers Thisweek Rosemount charges $9.00 per inch for legal ads. The newspaper reaches approximately 5,024 homes in the Rosemount. All publication notices are due Wednesday by 4:00 p.m. and published the following Saturday. SUMMARY All three newspapers have the means to fulfill the necessary state requirements. Since communication is a high priority of the City Council, staff explored changing the designation of the official newspaper to provide more coverage of ordinances, public hearings, public notices, meeting changes and budget reports. However, due to budgetary concerns staff is recommending to continue using Rosemount Town Pages as its official newspaper in 2008. Working with Rosemount Town Pages has been convenient for staff and the newspaper has given good service to the City. CONCLUSION Staff recommends approval of the above stated motion. 2