The importance of public notices printing in newspapers

This issue of the Independent Record has three full pages of public notices. Here is some information about why you should take the time to read them.

An important premise found in federal, state, and local governments is that information about government activities must be publicized for people to make well-informed decisions. Public notices provide this sort of transparency and accessibility to citizens who want to know more about government actions. Public notices provides the opportunity for the public to influence governing bodies and allows the public to be an active participant in a democratic society.

Public Notice Protects Due Process

Public notices are integral to democratic governance and stem from the right to “due process of law” guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions. Due process of law protects Americans’ rights from arbitrary or wrongful actions.

This concept has two parts: substantive due process and procedural due process.  Substantive due process refers to the types of rights that are protected.  Procedural due process refers to the means of protecting those rights.  Substantive due process ensures that certain basic rights are not violated, while procedural due process may require suitable notice and a hearing before a government or court-appointed body can act in a way that may affect those basic rights.

Public notices play a vital role in both substantive and procedural due process because they provide a window into government actions and afford notice to citizens of actions about to take place, so they may exercise their constitutional right to be heard.  Importantly, notification not only informs the individual or entity most directly affected, but also the general public which has an interest in knowing how public powers are being used.

Government Accountability

Government activities must be accessible for the electorate to make well-informed decisions. Public notices serve as a conduit of information from the government to the public. They enable citizens to monitor the actions of their local governments, as well as to keep track of events occurring in the local court system. Public notices allow citizens to serve as watchdogs for fraud and incompetence by both government officials and private interests. Each year, examples of government fraud are discovered by everyday citizens who read their public notices. When government officials try to hide damaging information by ignoring public notice rules, citizens and community newspapers often force the proper notice to be published.

Through the publishing of financial reports, citizens can see if tax dollars are being wasted. With notices of incorporation and dissolution, citizens can be aware of who is doing business in their community and ensure that businesses are not abusing limited liability incorporations to avoid the payment of debts.

Further, through public notices, citizens are given the opportunity to make their voices heard in public hearings and meetings. Citizens across the nation have used public notices and public hearings to object to changes in their community that could depress property values or alter the fabric of the area. Similarly, citizens have been able to participate in changes that enhance their communities, such as the construction of parks and other improvements. Allowing the public to influence the governing bodies of their local communities is crucial to the functioning of democratic society.

~ Public Notice Resource Center, https://www.pnrc.net/

Key Points

1. Along with open meetings and public records, public notice is an essential element of government transparency.

2. Newspaper websites versus government websites

3. Newspaper websites have a much larger audience (than government sites).Taking notices away from newspapers reduces the presence of notices online.

4. All public notices published in Wyoming newspapers are online free of charge.

5. Notices are published in newspapers (and their websites) because that’s where information is discovered. People go on the internet to search for information and they typically ignore everything else. Posting only on government sites is not giving notice to the people. It’s only making the information available if it’s searched out.

6. 86% of Wyoming cite local newspapers and newspaper websites as their most trusted source for public notices vs. government and related sources. 78% of Wyoming reads public notices in local print and digital newspapers. Almost 7 out of 10 Wyomingites believe that local and state governments should be required to publish public notices in newspapers on a regular basis. ~Coda Ventures, 2022 Wyoming Research

7. Newspaper notices keep the foxes away from the henhouse. Requiring independent, third-party newspapers to ensure that public notices run in accordance with the law helps prevent government entities (and officials) from hiding information they would prefer the public not to see.

8. Unlike newspaper publishers, public officials are not compelled by the free market to operate the most effective websites. Data from the Pew Research Center found that only 13% of adult internet users visit a local, state or federal government website. Every month in Wyoming 87% or 402,000 adults turn to their local print or digital newspapers for trusted news and information.

9. Although some complain about the cost paid by local governments for public notices, in fact, that cost amounts to, in every case, LESS THAN one-half of 1 percent (0.5%) of their annual operating budgets. This seems like a small price to pay for a lasting record of government action and providing Wyoming residents with their right to government transparency.

10. Some local governments say they can “publish” their notices on-line for less money than in a newspaper. According to the Wyoming Supreme Court and Wyoming Department of Administration and Information, the electronic storage of records is far more expensive than printing a permanent record on newspaper.

11. If there is no requirement to publish notices in the newspaper, most people will forget they exist, and government accountability will decrease,and spending will increase.

12. Because the Wyoming Press Association (WPA) believes in making public notices readily available for review, it has on its own, created an online, searchable archive where public notices appearing in newspapers can be found free of charge at http://wyopublicnotices.com. Users can also sign up to receive free text message or email alerts on public notices of interest for free.

13. There is a long tradition that there are four elements that mark a valid public notice.  The notice must be published by an independent party, the publication must be archivable, the publication must be accessible, and the publication must be verifiable.  If any one of these elements is absent, the public loses and the notice itself may be challenged.

-WPA