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Public Notices -- the basics



Hoosier State Press Associations, Steve Key sums up public notice advertising: 

"Those public notices are more than a reliable revenue stream, they are one of the three pillars supporting government transparency. The Public Notice Advertising Law (I.C. 5-3-1) requires state and local government units to publish notices in local newspapers to inform citizens of certain actions taken or contemplated by those government units. It complements the Open Door Law (I.C. 5-14-1.5) and the Access to Public Records Act (I.C. 5-14-3).

Public notices are time sensitive. Statutes specify how often a notice must run and when it must run in relation to the action that sparks the requirement for a published notice. Make sure whoever processes public notices understands that the failure to properly publish them on the correct days could require a government unit to reschedule a hearing or delay a business from getting a permit by a month or more. This is an area where customer service is imperative.

Democratic self-rule is based on the premise that information about government must be accessible to the electorate to enable them to make well-informed decisions about those who represent them. Public notice laws in the U.S. have recognized newspapers as the best means to provide that access. Public notices also have served a vital role to preserve the right of due process guaranteed by federal and state constitutions. Due process protects American’s fundamental rights from arbitrary or wrongful violation and affords citizens an opportunity to be heard before the state’s judicial system restricts those rights.

Public notification not only informs the individual or entity most directly affected, but also the general public, which has an interest in knowing how government power is wielded."

This excerpt is from the August 26, 2020 online publication of "Understand rules for public notice publication" .

Additional information can be found here at Michigan Press.

Cambridge Townships posts public notices on the front doors of the township office and places them in The Brooklyn Exponent and as an occasional back up, The Adrian Daily Telegram