SR 05:190 - Laserfiche WebLink

Public Notice Price Comparison Newspaper Line Charge (First Line) Line Charge (Second Estimated Display Ad Line) Cost 14 Col. X 5") The Valley Times $.38 $.37 $8.88 $391 The Tri-Vallev Herald $2.80 $2.80 $81.20 $462.80 Based on the above bids and the fact that The Valley Times has previously provided quality services to the City, staff has identified The Valley Times as the qualified low bidder and recommends it be awarded the contract for legal notices. (Attachment A). City Practice of Meeting Notifications As indicated above, in addition to publishing notices required by State law, the City regularly publishes ads highlighting important agenda items for commission and/or public meetings. In addition, the City regularly mails meeting notifications to the public regarding planning related items of particular interest to a specific neighborhood. While posting notices in neighborhoods is required for certain types of planning issues, the City's practice of mailing notices has been more expansive. A number of years ago, the City Council approved an extensive notification policy encouraging the publication of meeting notices in both the Tri-Valley Herald and The Valley Times. The notification policy was extended to the Pleasanton Weekly after it became available to the general public and The Independent is used when its publication schedule is conducive to the particular meeting dates. Depending on the number of items to be highlighted, notices are published in display type ads ranging from 2"x 3" to a quarter-page. In addition to these notices, City Council agendas are regularly broadcast by Channel 30 on its "reader board" and the City's web site. To notify the public directly, the Council established an expanded policy for mailed notices requiring them to be mailed to interested neighborhoods that may be beyond the 100 foot radius required by State law and to include notices for items of general concern not just items that must be noticed by State law. While publishing notices in multiple newspapers may be a thorough way of notifying the public, it is costly and may not be the most effective. While staff has not conducted any survey regarding the means by which the public is informed of meetings, based on general feedback, it seems as if the public relies more on the Cities web site, mailed notices and information mailed by the City to interested parties then it does on newspapers for getting information regarding City meetings. Regarding the cost issue, staff is concerned that the cost of publishing ads in all newspapers may be excessive when compared to the benefits. As an example, the table below shows publication costs from March of this year. SR:05:190 Page 2