City changes public notices policy to avoid conflict

Cora Scott: The mayor was made aware of the city policy before he was elected.

The city of Springfield is changing its advertising practices for public notices in connection to a change in the city’s leadership as well as the ways in which information is consumed.

One change that has already been enacted is that legal notices from the city of Springfield will no longer appear in The Daily Events, a daily publication that prints legal notices and courthouse records and has been in business since 1881, according to information included in staple-bound, plain-paper edition.

Springfield Mayor Jeff Schrag is owner and publisher of The Daily Events, and continuing to use that publication to advertise the city’s public notices would have created a conflict of interest.

Cora Scott, Springfield’s director of public information and civic engagement, noted, “Mayor Schrag was aware that if he were to win the election, any contracts between Daily Events and the city would need to end, and they did.”

Another change, scheduled for a vote of Springfield City Council on June 9, will allow certain notices, particularly public bids, to be publicized on the city’s website, rather than in a printed newspaper.

The Daily Events has been the longtime newspaper of record for Springfield city government. Revised Missouri Statutes, Chapter 493.050, stipulates that public advertisements required by law and all legal notices affecting title to real estate be published in a general-circulation newspaper that is published at least once a week.

Scott explained changes in the procedure for required notices in an email.

“A simple version is this: Where publication is controlled by local ordinance, which tends to be purchasing, we are moving online, and where it is governed by state law, which tends to be legal notices (e.g. planning), we are moving to the [Springfield] News-Leader,” she said.

In an interview, Schrag said when he made his decision to run, he understood he would have to give up city business for The Daily Events, but that’s a decision he and his wife, Mary Helen Schrag, made willingly.

“We knew it from the beginning,” he said. “The charter is very explicit.”

The rules keep leaders from abusing power – something Schrag said council was very aware of when the code was written in the middle of the last century.

“You’ve got to do the right thing – you can’t dance around it,” he said. “I went into it with my eyes wide open, and I knew that I would lose that business. It’s a hit, but we knew it and we planned for it.”

Time for a change
Scott said the city’s Public Works department decided it was time to make a change anyway – specifically, to using electronic notices.

“They go above and beyond that, however, to send notices for projects to MoDOT and other entities, such as the Springfield Contractors Association and even in some cases (Jefferson Avenue Footbridge) do a news release nationwide,” she said.

During the May 19 City Council meeting discussing the change, Dan Smith, the city’s director of public works, called the policy changes a minor update to reflect a changing media landscape.

“As media moves more to an electronic format versus a printed format, we want to make sure that we’re able to maintain the ability to follow city code,” he said. “What this does is allows us to meet that requirement by advertising on the city website.”

He said the measure would also allow the city the flexibility to go above and beyond its own website to get as many bids as possible for public projects. Partners such as the Associated General Contractors of Missouri, the Springfield Contractors Association and the Missouri Department of Transportation also post information and send it to contractors.

“We also have been working with purchasing and bidding some of our projects to them, and they use an electronic bidding software that is set up with many contractors,” he said. “It’s another way to advertise your project, and we’re actually moving more of that direction with our projects.”

Councilmember Derek Lee, who runs a local engineering firm, called the measure a great idea.

“I don’t think anybody goes to the paper to find a bid, so I think it’s very smart,” he said.

As a result of the switch from The Daily Events, the city anticipates a higher cost to print some of its notices.

In an email provided to SBJ by local government watchdog Linda Simkins, Springfield Planning Manager Bob Hosmer said The Daily Events had charged the city a flat fee of $75 for its notices, regardless of size. In contrast, he said, the News-Leader charges per line or word, and now ad costs range $200 to $800 each.

Hosmer wrote that his department is working to update the code to require less information in the notices and reduce costs. He estimated notices would cost an average of $100 each.

Susie Barnes, editor of The Daily Events, verified by email that the publication charges a flat rate of $75 for zoning notices. That cost will be raised to a flat rate of $95 on July 1, she said.

While a News-Leader spokesperson provided a statement for this story, they opted not to comment about pricing.

SBJ was not successful in its request for an interview for this story with Hosmer, Planning Director Steve Childers or City Attorney Jordan Paul.

The Department of Planning and Development released public notices on June 4 announcing that it would initiate amendments to sections of city code governing two policies: its publication and posting of notices of public hearings and its notifications for hearings on retail liquor sales.

The first measure would remove the requirement “to include a legal, metes and bounds property description” on published notices of rezoning public hearings.

“The change is being requested to bring the local requirements into alignment with Missouri state law, and to reduce the overall cost of advertising per application,” the notice says.

The second measure would remove the requirement to publish notice of public hearing for retail liquor sales and cites the same reasons.

P&Z has scheduled public hearings on June 12 on the two measures, while City Council plans to hold hearings on the rezoning notices measure on June 23 and on the retail liquor sales amendment on July 28.

A look at SBJ’s archives revealed that in 1999, the Springfield News-Leader challenged The Daily Events unsuccessfully on its eligibility to run public notices. At the time, Schrag, who had owned the paper for four years, said a decision to disqualify The Daily Events would put it out of business.

“This is a classic David vs. Goliath, and it could end up with the News-Leader having a monopoly,” Schrag said at the time.

The city’s move to News-Leader after nearly three decades was welcomed by that newspaper, which emailed a statement to SBJ.

“Readers trust The Springfield News-Leader for local news and important information,” a spokesperson said. “The decision to return legal advertisements to our publication will ensure local businesses and residents have timely and accessible updates regarding upcoming projects and opportunities. We look forward to serving (again) as the premier source for these notifications.”

A comparison of The Daily Events issues from before and after Schrag’s election does not reveal much variation in size. From March to May, the publication has typically run between 4 and 12 pages.

The publication ran a section in its June 3 publication comparing internet versus newspaper announcements and favoring print announcements.

“The internet can play a role in a better-informed citizenry, but government websites cannot replace the value provided by newspapers,” it said. “Newspapers are still the most effective medium through which to communicate with the public and thus are still designated by law as the appropriate forum for the posting of public notices in every state for virtually all purposes.”