• by Ray Schultz , April 1, 2024

Wichita.gov, the website of Wichita, Kansas city hall, could be soon be the “official city newspaper” of the town, depriving The Wichita Eagle of revenue for publishing ordnances and notices, The Eagle reports. 

The City Council ordered the city staff to prepare an option for getting the city out of its annual $150,000 contract with Eagle parent McClatchy, by a vote of 5-2, the Eagle continues. The contract expires in August. 

State law requires that such notices be published in a designated newspaper. However, the city cites a non-binding legal opinion by Attorney General Kris Kobach, saying that second-class cities with 2,000 to 15,000 residents can get around a third-party publication requirement for notices.

This opinion states that a city may designate its website as the "official newspaper" for publication of certain documents and notices. These would include notices about taxes, creating benefit districts and amending the zoning code, the Eagle reports.  

This action reflects a growing nationwide movement that would see governments post notices on their own websites, not in paid local newspapers. 

However, there are exceptions. The St. Lawrence County legislature in upstate New York recently designated three newspapers as official papers for the purpose of publishing law notices and other notices required by law to be published.