The Town of Turner Valley is making some changes to the way it advertises certain public hearings.
At its Aug. 17 meeting, town council passed second and third readings to amend its advertising bylaw so the Town is no longer required to advertise statutory hearings in the local newspaper for two consecutive weeks. The revision states the hearings must be advertised in the paper for one week before alternative advertising methods can be used.
Statutory hearings relate to land use projects like development plans, area structure plans and land management plans, said legislative services manager Heather Thomson.
“The purpose of the bylaw is to reduce costs for advertising regarding public hearings,” Thomson told council. “We will continue doing the normal notice in the newspaper as we do now, only it won’t run for two weeks.
“We already direct residents to the website for more information, so that will continue happening. This will provide flexibility of notification methods allowing us to use current and future technology.”
In October 2017, the Municipal Government Act (MGA) changed its rules so municipalities can use alternate methods to advertise statutory hearings rather than having to advertise statutory hearings in local newspapers for two consecutive weeks.
Turner Valley council gave first reading to the amendment at its July 20 meeting.
Western Wheel publisher Shaun Jessome spoke at Monday’s public hearing to reiterate the importance of advertising in the newspaper.
Jessome said he would prefer to see advertising contain more details than a title and brief description of the hearing, as is outlined in the bylaw, but that he’s happy the Town will continue advertising special events, job postings and other important notices.
Jessome told council that while the bylaw change will save the Town money, it won’t amount to much.
He said the Town spent approximately $8,100 in print advertising in the Western Wheel and its features in 2019. Of that, approximately $2,250 was spent on statutory resident notifications, he said.
“Based on that amount, the savings for the municipality would be approximately $1,125 a year,” he said. “Based on advertising spent so far in 2020, the new bylaw, if it would have been in place, would have saved you about $361. It’s not a lot of money.”
The Western Wheel published 283 stories, either about Turner Valley or referencing the community, in the past 12 months, said Jessome. He said the relationship between the Town and newspaper is more important now than ever.
“Our readers and constituents rely on us to keep them informed on Turner Valley information,” he said. “Even as this pandemic has been another challenge to the Western Wheel revenue, as it has for all media in Canada, we are seeing record readership in print and online as our communities try to understand COVID and separate fact from fiction.”
Deputy Mayor Lana Hamilton said while the cost savings is minimal, anywhere the Town can cut costs is important.
Using the Town’s website and social media platforms to get information to residents is a sign of the times, she added.
“It’s important that we continue that relationship and give (the Western Wheel) our business whenever we can - at the same time when there is cost savings that can be realized,” she said. “Because of the MGA changes and new ways of doing things, we need to capitalize on those cost savings because they all add up at the end of the day.”
Mayor Barry Crane agreed that the change is a sign of the times.
“This is another form of advertising,” he said. “It meets requirements of the MGA, it creates a small savings, but it also impacts our local economy.”
Black Diamond council passed first reading to make similar amendments to its advertising bylaw at its Aug. 19 meeting.
Chief administrative officer Sharlene Brown told council the resolution came from Black Diamond 12 years ago before it was made into legislation.
She said she doesn’t expect approval of the bylaw would change the Town’s advertising process.
“We still have the option to advertise for two weeks, and under normal practices I would suggest we do so,” she said. “This (potential bylaw change) will give us more flexibility to certain aspects for cost savings.”
Coun. Brian Marconi expressed concerns that if the Town adheres to the amended bylaw, if approved, residents who don't have access to computers could miss out on the advertisement if it only runs in the newspaper for one week.
Coun. Ted Bain shared his concerns.
“If we change it, we’re telling some people that, 'If you want the information, you have to find it,'” he said. “That goes against what I consider transparency.”
A public hearing for the advertising bylaw amendment is scheduled for Black Diamond’s Sept. 16 council meeting.