JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lawmakers were to consider a bill on Monday that would give small Missouri cities the authority to publish government information only online instead of in print newspapers.
Missouri — like most states — requires cities and counties to publish public notices about government business in the area’s newspapers.
The bill would allow notices about filing dates for special elections to be posted online instead of published in a newspaper. It also would allow some cities and villages to publish their financial statements at city hall and online instead of requiring them to print the notices in a newspaper.
Supporters say it will save taxpayer money.
Missouri Press Association president Doug Crews said that if information is posted online, there is no one to check if the notice was put up timely. He said courts can use print newspapers to prove whether government notices were published correctly.
“We think the biggest point is there should be an independent third party putting the notice up,” Crews said. “There needs to be a check there.”
He said it is newspapers’ job to ensure public information becomes public.
“The public shouldn’t have to go out finding notices on a Web site somewhere,” Crews said. “You can say not everybody reads a newspaper, but I can tell you a lot less people go to a government web site.”
Lamar City Administrator Lynn Calton said his small southwest Missouri town likely would keep publishing their financial statements in the local paper whether or not the bill passes. He said the city might consider posting notices online, but the city’s Web site isn’t very active.
“I have no clue if anybody bothers to read it,” Calton said. “Most people go about their daily lives and don’t think about the city unless there’s some big controversy.”
