To approve an expenditure for legal advertising for a two (2) year contract in the estimated annual amount of $70,000 from The Dallas Morning News; and authorizing the City Manager to execute all necessary documents. (City of Plano Internal Contract No. 2021-0007-X) Approved

All cities must publish legal notices in compliance with Local Government Code Chapter 2051.  This section of the LGC provides for the minimum requirements:

Sec. 2051.044.  TYPE OF NEWSPAPER REQUIRED. 

(a)  The newspaper in which a notice is published must:

(1)  devote not less than 25 percent of its total column lineage to general interest items;

(2)  be published at least once each week;

(3)  be entered as second-class postal matter in the county where published;  and

(4)  have been published regularly and continuously for at least 12 months before the governmental entity or representative publishes notice.

(b)  A weekly newspaper has been published regularly and continuously under Subsection (a) if

      the newspaper omits not more than two issues in the 12-month period.

(c)  This section does not apply to the publication of a notice to which Section 2051.0441

      applies.

The City Charter also requires ordinances with a penalty be published twice within 10 days.

Several city departments are required to publish certain legal notices in a newspaper of general circulation. 

The Dallas Morning News is the only local newspaper that complies with all state and local requirements.  The City has contracted with The Dallas Morning News since 2016.  This advertising contract is for an estimated spend of $70,000 per year for a two-year term from January 2021-December 2022 for a total of $140,000. 

Failure to approve this contract would result in non-compliance with state and local regulations and a higher rate for publications. Along with the City Secretary’s Office, the following departments would be impacted: Purchasing, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood Services, Building Inspections, and Environmental Health and Sustainability.  This contract is at a rate of $2.50 PCI, which is a savings of $11.50 PCI (82%) over publication at the $14.00 PCI base rate.  

This item approves a two-year contract in the amount of $70,000 per calendar year for legal advertising.  Expenditures will be made by multiple City departments based on need within the approved budget appropriations for each year of the contract.  The estimated amount to be spent in the remainder of FY 2020-21 is $52,500.  The estimated future amount to be spent is $87,500 (or $70,000 in FY 2021-22 and $17,500 in FY 2022-23). 

Approval of this contract relates to the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor of Excellent, Innovative, and Accountable City Government.