The Manhattan city government is considering changing its policy to publish legal notices on its own website, taking advantage of a loophole in state law. City governments are required to notify the public about certain legal changes by publishing them in the local newspaper of record. They also go to the newspapers’ websites and the Kansas Press Association website in a searchable database, which is free to access. Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach in 2023 wrote an opinion that small cities (populations 2,000-15,000) could essentially opt out, citing “home rule.” Since then, a few city governments have considered posting legal notices only on their own sites. “It looks like we spend about $17,000 a year putting those notices in The Manhattan Mercury,” city manager Danielle Dulin said. “One of the conversations that we had this evening would be if we started using our website as that official notice instead of using The Manhattan Mercury.” Commissioner Jayme Minton said she sees benefits and potential concerns to changing the publication process. “Really I think that’s just something (that needs) more discussion,” she said. “If the community really wants us to continue with that, then I think that’s what we should do. If there’s not a lot of input from the community on it, if they’re saying, no, please spend our $17,000 somewhere else, then I think we should go that way.”
Source: themercury.com – RSS Results in news of type article
