sr-061212-3zCity Council Meeting: June 12, 2012
Agenda Item:
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 for the purchase of the City's legally
required notices for FY2012 -13 to the Santa Monica Daily Press, a California -based
company, in the amount of $65,000, 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 during FY2012 -13.
After reviewing the bid proposal received from the Santa Monica Daily Press, staff
recommends that this publication be selected at an approximate annual cost of $65,000,
based on expected total expenditures in FY2011 -12.
Background
The Santa Monica Municipal Code and State law require that legal notices, primarily
items 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 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.
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Discussion
Staff published a notice inviting bids and selected 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
• Fiscal integrity
• Reputation of publication
Vendor selection
The notice seeking bids was sent to a list of local publications on April 16, 2012 and
published in the Santa Monica Daily Press, the City's current newspaper of record,
three times between April 17 and April 27, 2012, with bids due May 7, 2012. The City
received one bid for legal advertising services from the Santa Monica Daily Press.
Staff is recommending the Santa Monica Daily Press for selection because it meets or
exceeds all of the criteria outlined in the request for bids. A summary of the selected
vendor's proposal appears below:
Publication
Rate
Circulation
Delivery Methods
Publication
Schedule
of
w Local
News
6 issues
$13.00 /col.
17,000 daily
750 box, rack and
weekly, Mon —
Daily Press
inch (no min.)
print audited
drop locations; online
Fri and
75%
& paid subscriptions
weekend
edition'
Other local papers, including the Santa Monica Mirror, the Observer Newspaper and the
Argonaut; chose not to submit bids this year. The Santa Monica Daily Press is the only
adjudicated paper that publishes daily Monday through Saturday (weekend edition),
offering the highest weekly circulation number, density and readership.
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The Daily Press, an adjudicated newspaper of general circulation since 2005, has a
daily audited circulation of 17,000 (102,000 weekly). The Daily Press publishes six
papers each week, offering citywide exposure and flexibility in its legal advertising. On
average, the Daily Press publishes over 50 original local news stories per week and
devotes a minimum of 75% of the newspaper to local news, opinion and other
commentary. In addition, the Daily Press has an established reputation as a paper of
record in Santa Monica and has been responsive to staff's requests, offering a
dedicated employee to service the City's account. The $13.00 per column inch rate
offered by the Daily Press is approximately 39% lower than its regular open rate and
represents the best value of the bids received. The City typically publishes 4,500 -5,000
column inches' worth of legal advertising in a fiscal year. As of April 2012 (FY2011 -12),
the City has spent $55,570 to publish legal notices in the Santa Monica Daily Press
(approximately 4360 column inches). The recommendation to open a $65,000 purchase
order for legal advertising is based on the probable purchase of a similar number of
column inches in FY2012 -13.
While the City Charter requires the selection of a single 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 online, within approved budget allocations. 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.
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Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The purchase order to be awarded to the Santa Monica Daily Press is $65,000. Funds
are available in the FY 2011 -13 budget in division 211; the purchase order will be
charged to account 01211.522520 (Legal Advertising).
Prepared by: Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney
roved:
/ lam,
MaJJsha Jo' es Mou i
City Attorney
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Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould
City Manager