Public access questions follow Marion County’s shift of legal notices to its website
File photo: Carl Zalak III, the chair of the Marion County Commission, speaks during the Marion County Commission meeting in the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.
By Jennifer Hunt Murty
Following an October decision to shift legally required public notices from independent newspapers to a government-run platform, Marion County has begun publishing county legal advertisements on its own website. While county officials argue the move streamlines processes, concerns regarding public accessibility have emerged regarding how residents can find—or subscribe to—these notices.
How to request mailed notices
As part of the transition, the county published an “Annual Notice” in the “Ocala Star-Banner” on Jan. 5 informing the public of how they could request future legal notices. The notice explained that property owners and residents have the right to receive these notices via first-class mail or email.
To receive legally required advertisements and public notices from Marion County by mail or email, residents must contact the Marion County Attorney’s Office: Name, mailing address, and request for legal notices to: [email protected]
Search functionality sparks concerns
While the mailing option addresses one aspect of accessibility, a significant disparity has arisen regarding how the public can search for notices online. The county maintains that the general search function on its website suffices.
Maintaining that broad search function of their entire website, which does not allow for filtering dates or even legal notices, is a far departure from what search function newspapers have had to provide the public under statute.
Florida Statute 50.0211(2) states that a website publishing these notices “must contain a search function to facilitate searching the legal notices.” Currently, the county’s site lacks the ability to sort specifically by date or isolate legal notices from general county information, making it difficult for the public to monitor recent government actions efficiently.
If readers check the public notice portal on the “Gazette” or “Star-Banner’s” website, they will notice a search function only for legal notices – that allows for filtering notices by date, not sorting through all content on the news websites.
In a recent email exchange with the “Gazette,” Chief Assistant County Attorney Dana Olesky asserted that the county is in compliance because “the notices are searchable through a ‘search’ box on the top of the page.”
However, the “Gazette” contends that the county’s current system falls short of the functionality standard set for newspapers and required for transparency. Independent newspaper websites utilize search functions that allow the public to isolate legal notices from other content, searching specifically by keywords and date ranges.
In contrast, Marion County is relying on a general website search bar. This tool searches the entirety of the county’s website—including unrelated pages, news releases, and department information—rather than a dedicated legal notice database leaving the public pages of content to wade through to find a time-sensitive legal notice.
Other agencies use of county website
While the county moves forward, it is unclear if other local government bodies will follow. Olesky indicated in an email that the city of Belleview and the Clerk of Court’s office had “requested to utilize the county’s website for legal notices.”
However, Rob Davis, general counsel for the Marion County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, clarified the Clerk’s position in a subsequent email on Feb. 5.
“While the Clerk’s Office has expressed interest in learning more about and potentially using the county’s website to post legal notices, we have not yet formally committed to doing so,” Davis stated.
Agencies that chose to publish legal notices on the county’s website will have to navigate their own request for mailing every legal notice to citizens who request them, a factor to consider since the statute requires government agencies to contemplate the cost of publishing notices in their policy decision to publish their own legal notices against a newspaper.
For context, the lowest cost meeting notice to publish a similar notice in the “Gazette” online, in print, and on the state legal notice website runs on average $36. Arguably, even if 35 residents request legal notices by mail, the county’s choice to publish its own legal notices could quickly cost more when factoring in postage, paper, and staff time.
The county’s agreement with other agencies to use their website for publishing notices acknowledges that there is some liability to the county for publishing notices this way.
“Failure to comply with Florida statutes related to public and legal notice advertising may result in legal consequences, including but not limited to penalties, fines, or invalidation of the notices. The agency acknowledges that failure to comply with statutory notice requirements is not the responsibility of Marion County and waives any claim against Marion County related to the agency’s use of the county’s publicly accessible website for notice under section 50.0311, Florida Statutes.”
Disclosure: Advertising legal notices to the public traditionally has been a function of qualified general circulation newspapers, which earn revenue from the service. The new policy shifts revenue away from the three newspapers in Marion County, including the “Gazette,” that have published legal notices.
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