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Florida TaxWatch: Keep public notices in the Sunshine

By Staff | Apr 5, 2011

As fellow, red-blooded Americans who cherish the freedoms this nation provides, we at Florida TaxWatch hold dear the independent and unfiltered manner of governmental entities placing public notices in local newspapers of record.

If the current proposal in the legislature, House Bill 89, which proposes moving public notices to government-run websites saved a great deal of taxpayer money, Florida TaxWatch would have been among the most vocal proponents of the idea.

No one is more committed to meaningful government cost savings, innovation, and productivity than Florida TaxWatch. Through more than three decades of research that gets results for taxpayers and more than twenty years of running the Prudential – Davis Productivity Awards program, Florida TaxWatch has demonstrated our commitment to improving taxpayer value, citizen understanding, and government accountability.

The fact of the matter is that online-only public notices would likely cost taxpayers more money. Taxpayers could be significantly harmed financially by online-only notifications of upcoming votes, tax increases and other expensive policies that could potentially fly under the radar.

Checks and balances are the bulwark of our American freedoms. The legislative proposal to take public notification out of newspapers of record, no matter how well intended, would strip us of an important taxpayer protection.

Taxpayers deserve be notified in advance of critical government votes. The public must have their voices heard during government debates about raising taxes or spending more money. By reducing the amount of notification in advance of key votes, citizens would have fewer opportunities to participate in the process and communicate with their elected leaders.

Government notices on government-run websites also take away the neutrality and independence of a newspaper or other third party. The temptation would be too high for governments to miss notification deadlines, leave out critical information, or make changes electronically to items on their websites without public knowledge. When something runs in the newspaper, it is printed and distributed, then in print and permanent for all to reference and reexamine anytime.

Florida, the Sunshine State, is widely known for its open government policies and transparency. We ask the Florida Legislature to keep public notices in the sunshine so they are visible for all to see on websites and in newspapers in advance of government meetings and actions.

A perfect example of why public notices in newspapers are needed exists following each year’s distribution of Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices. After TRIM notices arrive in your mailbox, local government authorities then hold hearings and vote on millage rates. Because these hearings are announced broadly in newspapers, many citizens and taxpayers are able to get the word out and speak out at public meetings. Through newspaper ads, taxpayers learn about important meetings in advance and have an opportunity to voice their opinions in the process before votes are taken.

No other state in this nation has passed laws taking public notices out of newspapers and putting them on government websites. Utah did pass such a law last year, to take effect in 2012, but repealed the law this year when a survey of state residents overwhelmingly showed a preference for notices in newspapers. Florida should learn from Utah’s mistake and not become the only state in the country to pursue an online notification policy.

Just this year, Florida TaxWatch has outlined more than $4 billion worth of cost savings for state policy makers and millions to be saved at the local level. There are plenty of potential solutions for cost savings at all levels of government outlined on our website www.FloridaTaxWatch.org but reducing the amount of local government communications with taxpayers in advance of critical policy decisions is not one of them.

We encourage policymakers and taxpayers to review our Government Cost Savings Task Force reports, our special report titled “Notable Practices of Florida Counties, Cities, and Schools”, our report “Florida TaxWatch Suggestions for Improved Government Performance”, and our report “Productivity Improvements Can Help Florida’s Local Governments Save Millions and Minimize Cuts in Services”.

The minimal cost of local governments funding public notices in unfiltered, neutral, third party communications vehicles is a small price to pay to protect our country’s freedoms that our men and women in uniform fight to support and defend.

— Dominic M. Calabro is president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, research institute, where he has served for more than three decades.