Shirley seeks to cut legal ad costs after mailer goes out of business

SHIRLEY — For many years, The Shirley Volunteer published the town’s legal notices, charging substantially less than other area publications.

The low price tag was based on the premise that the primary goal of the newspaper, which used to be thicker than in recent years and at one time was mailed to every household in town for free, was not to make a profit but to serve residents, with operating costs offset by ad revenue.

But now that the small weekly has folded, the town must find another venue for its legal ads, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin told selectmen Monday. Knowing the price will go up, Garvin said she’s been shopping around for an affordable alternative.

The Nashoba Valley Voice, a weekly newspaper, and its sister paper The Sun, a daily newspaper, are the only publications consistently covering Shirley now.

“We’re getting quotes …but they’re very high,” she said.

Of particular concern, she said, was the impact on boards that frequently post legal notices, such as the Conservation Commission.

So she took her search for savings outside the box to a small weekly in neighboring town.

“The Groton Herald…can do it at half the cost,” she said.

Trouble is, it’s not a Shirley newspaper. But Garvin said the Groton newspaper has said it can “put papers around town.”

At this point, she’s still exploring options, she said. “We’re looking into it.”

In separate phone interviews Tuesday morning, Town Clerk Amy McDougall and Conservation Agent Mike Fleming shed more light on the subject.

Asked if a newspaper bearing the banner of another town could be considered a “publication of general circulation” in Shirley, as required for zoning notices under MGL Chapter 40A, Section 11, McDougall said it seemed unlikely.

The Planning Board and the Conservation Commission face similar regulations, she said.

If the idea is to “get the word out in the most effective way,” the question would be whether cost should be the key factor in deciding where to place the ads, she said. “It would be a trade off.”

But Conservation Agent Mike Fleming, citing discussions with Chairman Dave Bortell and with Garvin, seemed to think it was a done deal and that the commission’s legal ads would run in the Voice from now on.

Costs vary according to the type of application, the project and the category under which it must be filed, he said, ranging from a homeowner’s “Notice of Intent” application to a developer’s “Request For Determination” on a proposed subdivision. The cost is passed on to applicants, he said, with fees codified in town bylaws.

In the past, the applicant could simply write a check to the Volunteer for the notice.

Now, the town would have to pay the publication up front and cover its outlay through reimbursements. “We’d have to come up with a budget for that,” he said.

He hopes to ensure a smooth process by scheduling Conservation Commission hearings only after the ad fee has been paid, Fleming said.

Garvin’s executive assistant, Nate Boudrea, said he’s in the process of looking further into the issue.

Asked why a cost hike is at issue, given that the cost of legal notices for public hearings were mostly passed on to the applicants, Boudreau said that’s not always the case. For example, the town foots the bill for legal notices regarding tree or pole hearings, he said.