Sedgwick County will no longer publish its legal notices in the Wichita Eagle. Commissioners voted Wednesday in favor of a cheaper vendor.
The county will begin publishing its legal notices—such as delinquent taxes and notices of lawsuits—in the Derby Weekly Informer.
Commissioners said the change will save taxpayers money: The Wichita Eagle, the county’s current vendor, would have cost an estimated $133,000 a year. The Informer would cost and estimated $56,000.
The paper has a weekly circulation of just 1600, but Commissioner Jim Howell said legal notices are already published in at least three other places beyond what state law requires, including on the county's smartphone app.
“By statute they don’t care about distribution or readership. All they care about is the fact that we do it," Howell said. "And I believe as a Republican that believes in conservative values, I want efficiency and effectiveness. I think we ought to do what’s good for the tax payer.”
A bill now in the Kansas House would allow for legal publications to be posted on websites instead of in newspapers.
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