Franklin Co. considers newspaper switch for legal notices

PASCO — Franklin County commissioners seem to be leaning toward continuing to publish county legal notices in a newspaper that doesn't circulate in Pasco -- where most county residents live.

They have been considering for more than a month whether to keep the Connell-based Franklin County Graphic as the county's official newspaper.

The competition in bidding for the county contract is the Tri-City Herald, which circulates throughout Franklin and Benton counties, but is published in Kennewick.

At stake for the newspapers is a contract that in 2010 was worth almost $12,000 for the Connell paper.

The Herald's broader reach and more diverse services would have cost the county an estimated $11,000 more, if calculated using the average price in the Herald's latest bid.

The Connell paper, which has no website, has a weekly circulation of 2,700 in north Franklin County.

The Herald's average circulation for 2010 was about 34,400 daily and 38,500 on Sunday, of which about 7,400 circulate in Franklin County.

The Herald's bid also includes publishing county notices on its website, tricityherald.com, which draws about 100,000 page views each weekday.

State law sets specific criteria for a county's "legal newspaper," and Commissioner Brad Peck said the county's civil attorney has advised commissioners that if a newspaper is published in the county and meets the criteria, commissioners don't have a choice and should award the contract to the locally published newspaper.

Commissioners have said in the past that the Graphic is published in Franklin County, while the Tri-City Herald, with its office across the Columbia River in Kennewick, is not.

Though claiming to be Franklin County's newspaper, the Graphic for decades has been printed by the Columbia Basin Herald, which is in the Grant County city of Moses Lake.

Commissioners have focused on a portion of state law that says if there is a qualified legal newspaper published in the county, it should be given preference.

But Rufus M. Friday, the Herald's publisher, said a legal newspaper also has to meet certain qualifications set in another state statute, which include qualifying for a third-class periodical permit with the U.S. Postal Service.

Legal notices are supposed to keep the public informed about how their county uses tax dollars, Friday said.

"How can commissioners say they are accomplishing this in the Franklin County Graphic?" Friday asked, noting it's "a once-a-week publication, a free publication, a publication with only approximately 2,700 free distribution ... that has no circulation in Pasco, the county seat of government."

Although the cost of legals in the Herald is higher, Friday said when the newspapers' circulations are compared, the Herald costs less per household reached.

That's something state statute encourages counties to consider.

"The county legislative authority shall let the contract to the best and lowest responsible bidder, giving consideration to the question of circulation in awarding the contract, with a view to giving publication of notices the widest publicity," according to the Revised Code of Washington.

Graphic Publisher Kathy Valdez said in an e-mail that the Graphic has been the county's legal newspaper since 1955.

"Our rates are low and with the hardships everyone is having now, it makes sense to go with a lower rate," she said. " Plus as far as I can find, the Graphic is the only paper published in Franklin County at this time."

Peck requested last week that commissioners ask the Graphic to send the county a letter asserting that the newspaper is qualified to be a "legal newspaper."

He said during that meeting that if the Graphic qualifies as one, the discussion is over.

Peck said he's yet to see any evidence the Graphic isn't a legal newspaper.

And he said Pasco residents can subscribe to the Graphic by mail.

Commission Chair Bob Koch has pointed out the county sometimes uses the Herald for notices, but also has supported keeping the Graphic as the county's legal newspaper.

Even so, the county spent more on notices in the Herald in 2010 than it did on notices in the Graphic.

County records show the county spent about $16,000 with the Herald in 2010, although many notices ran only in the Graphic.

The Graphic and the Herald were the only two bidders for the county's legal notices when bids were opened on March 30.

A decision has yet to be made.

The new contract is to be in effect from July 1 until June 30, 2012.

This story was originally published May 23, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Franklin Co. considers newspaper switch for legal notices."