Wichita City Council members have approved a charter ordinance to establish the city’s web site as the “official newspaper” for the publication of legal notices.
Under state law, the city has to designate a newspaper as the official city newspaper for the publication of ordinances, resolutions and other notices. The city has contracted with The McClatchy Company, publisher of the Wichita Eagle, as the official newspaper since 2019, and that contract expires in August.
Two of the city’s six District Advisory Boards were against the change, voicing concerns about transparency with the city’s decisions and policies. Several residents raised those concerns during the Council discussion on Tuesday.
Council Member Becky Tuttle said she was not willing to sacrifice transparency for cost savings, so she offered an amendment requiring a secondary print source as a back up to the web site, and the city will go out for bids to choose that source. Her amendment was approved with a 6-1 vote, with Vice Mayor Maggie Ballard voting no. The charter ordinance was then approved 5-2, with Ballard and Mike Hoheisel voting no.
Ballard said legal notices are not for community engagement, they are about publishing in an independent record that is maintained in libraries for future legal use, and she said the web site does not accomplish that purpose.
