Mat-Su Assembly adopts independent public notice guideline after Sentinel testimony

PALMER – The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to update when legally required public notices must be printed in a physical newspaper, and to require staff to post them in public places and publish them on the borough's website, on social media, and on an independent website not controlled by borough officials.

Mat-Su Sentinel founder and editor Amy Bushatz broke with news coverage norms and testified at the meeting, requesting that the borough require notices to be published by a third party. Doing so protects transparency and gives residents more opportunities to know what's happening in local government, she said.

The Assembly voted 6-1 to add a requirement for publication on an independent third-party platform other than social media, with Assembly member Dmitri Fonov voting no. The legislation as a whole was approved unanimously.

Bushatz told the Assembly the borough should be required to publish public notices digitally through a third-party vendor, not just on its own website, because doing so improves public access, creates a permanent, verifiable public record of government notices, and provides accountability outside the government itself.

Social media is not a reliable solution, she said, because whether posts on Facebook and other platforms are shown to readers is determined by algorithms that reward entertainment value, not civic engagement.

The Sentinel publishes public notices through the digital vendor Column, which provides legally required affidavits for each posting and charges a fee for the service. The Sentinel also charges a flat publication fee.

Bushatz told the Assembly she was not specifically advocating for notices to be published on the Mat-Su Sentinel website as part of that Column-based service.

"Do it with the Sentinel, do it with somebody else — it doesn't matter to me where you do it. It just needs to be done," Bushatz said during the meeting. "What matters is that it is independent and in control of someone who is bound to post a certain way, not via social media algorithm vibes."

Updates to the borough's public notice printing requirements became necessary in June, when the Mat-Su Sentinel acquired the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman from its Arizona-based owner and ceased print publication because of cost constraints.

The borough previously paid the Frontiersman about $100,000 each year to print notices in the physical newspaper. State law requires municipalities to publish notices in a "newspaper of general circulation" or, if one is not available, post them in three public places.

The measure approved Tuesday clarifies when a printed publication qualifies as a "newspaper of general circulation." Under the change, such a publication must be prepared in newspaper format, published at least twice a week, available for physical or mail delivery, and not intended for a specific occupation or professional group. The operator also must hold a second-class mailing permit from the U.S. Postal Service.

While the Anchorage Daily News meets some of those requirements, it is not available in delivered print form to new subscribers in Mat-Su ZIP codes, according to its website.

The amendment Bushatz requested Tuesday keeps the updated "newspaper of general circulation" definition in place, but also adds a requirement — in an accompanying guidance memo — that staff use an independent third-party publishing option.

Below is the full text of Bushatz's prepared remarks:

I'm Amy Bushatz. I'm a Mat-Su Borough resident and the founder of the Mat-Su Sentinel, a nonprofit news organization.

I know it's a little weird to see me up here. Frankly, it's weird to be up here. For the last three years, I've attended these meetings until the bitter end because I believe in one thing: the importance of public notice and making sure residents know what's happening in their local government so they have a chance to participate.

That's why I'm here tonight.

OR 26-085 changes the borough's definition of a newspaper. The IM makes clear that because there is no longer a qualifying printed newspaper, the borough would instead post notices on its own website, on social media and on bulletin boards in borough buildings and libraries. Yes, the Mat-Su sentinel shut down the printed newspaper because it was not financially viable.  

Public notices exist for one reason: to ensure government actions are made visible to the people they affect. They're not advertising. They're a legal safeguard built on the idea that an independent third party—not the government itself—should be responsible for publishing official notices.

I don't think I need to spend much time explaining why trusting Callifornia tech bros to show residents important government information isn't a faithful transparency strategy. We all know social media decides what people see, and somehow I don't think Platting Board agendas are going to beat cat videos.

The borough's website is different. It's a valuable public resource. But when the government is both creating the notices and deciding where they're published, we've removed an important layer of independent accountability.

The borough was spending an astonishing $100,000 in taxpayer money - im a taxpayer, so that’s also my money – to publish notices with the Frontiersman and meet its legal requirements. That was their pre-shutdown profit margin. It’s bonkers. 

And no, there's no way to publish with a third party can be free because things cost money to operate. But it doesn't have to be expensive. It can be done at cost. Do it with the Sentinel. Do it with someone else. What matters is that it is independent and in the control of someone who is bound to post it a certain way, not via social media algorithm vibes.  

An independent publisher creates a permanent public record. If there's ever a dispute about whether a notice was published, someone outside the government can verify it.

It also increases visibility. Most residents don't routinely check the borough website hoping something important has been posted. Independent publishers put those notices where people are already looking for local information.

Most importantly, it protects public trust. Transparency is strongest when it's verified by someone outside the government.

Public notices belong to the public. The public deserves more than the government saying, "Trust us. We posted it."