Dear MCANJ Members,
Its been brought to the attention of the Executive Board of MCANJ that an article was published yesterday advising that in 2025 several major newspaper outlets will no longer publish a print edition of their papers due to rising costs. Some of these papers no longer offering print editions are:
The Star Ledger-after February 2025
Jersey Journal-Effective February 1st
The Times of Trenton-Effective February 2nd
South Jersey Times-Effective February 2nd
Hunterdon Democrat-Effective January 30th
Many Municipal Clerks use these papers to advertise as required by the Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act-N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 which requires:
"Adequate notice" means written advance notice of at least 48 hours, giving the time, date, location and, to the extent known, the agenda of any regular, special or rescheduled meeting, which notice shall accurately state whether formal action may or may not be taken and which shall be (1) prominently posted in at least one public place reserved for such or similar announcements, (2) mailed, telephoned, telegrammed, or hand delivered to at least two newspapers which newspapers shall be designated by the public body to receive such notices because they have the greatest likelihood of informing the public within the area of jurisdiction of the public body of such meetings, one of which shall be the official newspaper, where any such has been designated by the public body or if the public body has failed to so designate, where any has been designated by the governing body of the political subdivision whose geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of the public body and (3) filed with the clerk of the municipality when the public body's geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of a single municipality, with the clerk of the county when the public body's geographic boundaries are coextensive with that of a single county, and with the Secretary of State if the public body has Statewide jurisdiction. For any other public body the filing shall be with the clerk or chief administrative officer of such other public body and each municipal or county clerk of each municipality or county encompassed within the jurisdiction of such public body. Where annual notice or revisions thereof in compliance with section 13 of this act set forth the location of any meeting, no further notice shall be required for such meeting.
Not only is the Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act impacted by this so is other publishing requirements such as N.J.S.A. 40:49-2. Procedure for Passage of Ordinances:
a. Every ordinance after being introduced and having passed a first reading, which first reading may be by title, shall be published in its entirety or by title or by title and summary at least once in a newspaper published and circulated in the municipality, if there be one, and if not, in a newspaper printed in the county and circulating in the municipality, together with a notice of the introduction thereof, the time and place when and where it will be further considered for final passage, a clear and concise statement prepared by the clerk of the governing body setting forth the purpose of the ordinance, and the time and place when and where a copy of the ordinance can be obtained without cost by any member of the general public who wants a copy of the ordinance. If there be only one such publication the same shall be at least one week prior to the time fixed for further consideration for final passage. If there be more than one publication, the first shall be at least one week prior to the time fixed for further consideration for final passage.
b. At the time and place so stated in such publication, or at any time and place to which the meeting for the further consideration of the ordinance shall from time to time be adjourned, all persons interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the ordinance. The opportunity to be heard shall include the right to ask pertinent questions concerning the ordinance by any resident of the municipality or any other person affected by the ordinance. Final passage thereof shall be at least 10 days after the first reading.
c. Upon the opening of the hearing, the ordinance shall be given a second reading, which reading may be by title, and thereafter, it may be passed with or without amendments, or rejected. Prior to the said second reading, a copy of the ordinance shall be posted on the bulletin board or other place upon which public notices are customarily posted in the principal municipal building of the municipality, and copies of the ordinance shall be made available to members of the general public of the municipality who shall request such copies. If any amendment be adopted, substantially altering the substance of the ordinance, the ordinance as so amended shall not be finally adopted until at least one week thereafter, and the ordinance as amended shall be read at a meeting of the governing body, which reading may be by title, and shall be published in its entirety or by title or by title and summary, together with a notice of the introduction, the time and place when and where a copy of the amended ordinance can be obtained without any cost by any member of the general public who desires a copy, a clear and concise statement prepared by the clerk of the governing body setting forth the purpose of the ordinance, and the time and place when and where the amended ordinance will be further considered for final passage, at least two days prior to the time so fixed. At the time and place so fixed, or at any other meeting to which the further consideration of the amended ordinance may be adjourned, the governing body may proceed to pass the ordinance, as amended, or again amend it in the same manner.
d. Upon passage, every ordinance, or the title, or the title and a summary, together with a notice of the date of passage or approval, or both, shall be published at least once in a newspaper circulating in the municipality, if there be one, and if not, in a newspaper printed in the county and circulating in the municipality. No other notice or procedure with respect to the introduction or passage of any ordinance shall be required.
These are just some examples of the major impact that faces us as Municipal Clerks in 2025 when it comes to newspapers, we use for publication that will no longer be in print but will only be on the internet moving forward which is in violation of the State Statutes as we know them. There has been several attempts in the past to allow legislation to change the publishing policies in the State and permit the use of websites for municipalities when it comes to our publishing requirements but these legislation changes were met with opposition by the newspapers from 2017 to 2019 saying there would be no transparency for the residents to know what is happening in government. How ironic to read the headlines of yesterday and todays newspapers that they will no longer provide printed newspapers to the public now.
At this time there is a rush in Trenton to get a Legislative fix on this matter. Letters are being sent to Legislative Leaders and the Governor through the New Jersey League of Municipalities and as we learn more on this matter we will inform you immediately.
Sincerely,
MCANJ Executive Board