Keeping public notices in newspapers will cost government less than any other alternative and reach the most people, by far.
Local governments claim that putting public notices on their websites will decrease cost and increase access.
Neither of these claims is true.
It will cost government more, not less, to take over public notices, including increased IT, personnel, and unemployment costs.
Conservative estimates put IT maintenance costs alone at $1,000-$3,000 a month, per municipality website (annual costs ranging from $2.4 million to more than 48 million per year, across Pennsylvania), plus significant up-front costs regarding site security and redundancies.
Additional, real costs to government include staffing, unemployment compensation costs of more than $1,000,000 per month, and corresponding losses in income tax receipts.
Pennsylvania newspapers have offered - and are continuing to offer a solution that responds to local government concerns about cost and access AND best meets the needs of both government and taxpayers.
Pennsylvania newspapers will guarantee government the lowest advertising rate given to comparable advertisers, including earned volume and multiple insertion discounts.
Bundled savings; greater reach: For this one, reduced rate, Pennsylvania newspapers will put public notices in their print publications, on their newspaper websites, and on a statewide, searchable database, at no additional cost to the government or the public.
This solution guarantees government cost-savings, and also guarantees that the most people will have access to public notices, including those significant populations that are not on the Internet (seniors, minorities, disabled, rural residents, etc.) AND those who prefer to read their news online.
The combined reach of Pennsylvania newspapers, in print and online, far exceeds any other alternative for public notices.
More than 86 percent of Pennsylvanians read a newspaper in print or online in a given week.
