SR-082807-1ECity Council Meeting: August 28, 2007
Agenda Item: 1 E
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
SUBJECT: Awarding Bid to Publish City's Legal Notices
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council award a bid to the Santa Monica Daily Press to
publish the city's legal notices for fiscal year 2007-08, pursuant to the requirements of
Section 609 of the City Charter.
Executive Summary
State and local law require that legal notices, primarily relating to public bidding and
land use matters, be published in a newspaper of general circulation. Santa Monica
City Charter Section 609 sets forth the procedures for annual selection of an official
newspaper for publication of legal notices. In accordance with Charter Section 609, the
city published a notice inviting bids to publish the city's legal notices. Two bids were
received and evaluated based on criteria outlined in the notice. The Santa Monica
Daily Press, with aMonday -Saturday circulation of 19,000, and a $11.75/column inch
ad rate is recommended for selection. The city currently places approximately 5053
column inches annually and under an existing contract has been paying a discounted
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rate of $10.75/column inch. Designating the Santa Monica Daily Press as the official
newspaper will result in continued reliable coverage for the city for legal notices.
Discussion
Background
The Santa Monica Municipal Code and state law require that legal notices, primarily
relating to public bidding and land use matters, be published in a newspaper of general
circulation published in the city (SMMC Sec. 9.04.20.22.050) or, if there is none, in a
paper of general circulation published nearest to the city (Government Code Sec. 6042).
Under state law, a paper qualifies for city adjudication by either 1) being printed in the
city for one year or 2) being published in the city for three years and having a principal
office of publication in the city. In either case, some distribution to paid subscribers is
also required.
The Santa Monica Daily Press, founded in 2001, was adjudicated as a newspaper of
general circulation for the City of Santa Monica on December 20, 2005 by Judge
Kenneth R. Freeman of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The Daily Press
publisher notified the city of the adjudication status on January 16, 2006. Two other
newspapers-the Observer and the British Weekly-also claim adjudication within the
city; however, a recent appellate court decision in a case entitled Santa Monica
Observer Newspaper, Inc. v. City of Santa Monica casts doubt on the Santa Monica
Observer Newspaper's legal status. The Los Angeles Times is not adjudicated in the
city, nor is the Santa Monica Mirror, another local news weekly.
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Bid Selection Process
Although the City Charter (SMMC Sec. 609) gives the City Council the power to contract
with acity-adjudicated newspaper without advertising for bids if that paper is the only
qualified paper in the city, staff determined that the prudent and equitable approach was
to publish a notice inviting bids and to select an official newspaper based on the
following criteria:
• Proof of adjudication in the City of Santa Monica
• Amount of bid (ad rate, which cannot exceed customary rates)
• Circulation (including copies per issue, documented readership)
• Delivery methods (news racks, home delivery, on-line, other)
• Publication schedule (weekly, daily)
• Percentage of local news carried
• Fiscallntegrity
• Reputation of publication
The notice was published in the Santa Monica Daily Press on June 19, 2007, with bids
due June 26, 2007. In addition, the city directly notified all local weekly and daily
newspapers circulated in Santa Monica that the notice had been published.
The city received two bids: one from the Observer Newspaper and the other from the
Santa Monica Daily Press. Based upon the prior lawsuit between the City and the
Observer and the documents submitted by the Observer Newspaper in connection with
the bid, it is still not clear whether the adjudication order received in 2000 applies to the
current publication. The Santa Monica Daily Press's 2005 adjudication order is valid.
The Santa Monica Daily Press is being recommended for selection based on the criteria
outlined in the notice inviting bids. The chart below provides a comparison of the two
bidders across all criteria:
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Rate
Circulation
Delivery Methods Publication
Schedule % of
Local
News
19,000 25 boxes, 322 racks,
$11.75/col. (18,386 355 drops, online &
~~
Daily Press Inch (no min.) Audited print substantial paid
" Daily, M-Sat 75%
&online) subscriptions
(1,120
paid)
200 racks, 200 drops,
Observer $g/col. Inch 10,000 5,000 home Weekly 100%
Newspaper delivered, free online
(100 paid)
Staff is recommending the Santa Monica Daily Press for a number of reasons. In
deciding an official newspaper one of the most important factors is distribution. The
public interest is best served by ensuring that official city notices will be viewed by as
many residents as possible. While the Observer's rates are lower than the rates of the
Daily Press, the Daily Press's daily distribution more than offsets this modest price
differential. A daily newspaper attracts many more readers and thus results in better
noticing to the public. Further, a daily newspaper provides substantially more
advertising flexibility than a weekly newspaper. Finally, the data submitted by the Daily
Press, especially its audited circulation statistics, confirm that it in fact reaches more
local residents than the Observer.
While the City Charter requires the selection of a single city-adjudicated newspaper for
the purpose of publishing legal notices, it should be noted that display advertising to
inform residents of city programs and services can and will continue to be placed in
other local newspapers, both print and on-line, within approved budget allocations.
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Also, certain legal noticing, particularly Purchasing Officer bid notices that require
dissemination beyond Santa Monica's borders, will continue to be published in the Los
Angeles Times or other regional papers in addition to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
The City Charter requires the bid process for publication of legal notices to occur
annually if there is more than one newspaper of general circulation in the city.
Finance/Budget Impact
The city spent $54,316 in FY 2006-07 publishing legal notices in the Santa Monica Daily
Press. Based on purchase of a similar number of column inches-5053- the city
expects to spend approximately $59,373 with the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Legal advertising is budgeted in General Fund Account No. 01211.522520, Records &
Election Services.
Prepared by:
Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
City Attorney
Manager
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