91视频

Editor’s note: The Daily Journal of Commerce receives a portion of its revenue from fees it collects from public notices such as those described in the following story. In addition, representatives of the 91视频 have submitted testimony at both the city and state levels related to the publication of public notices in newspapers of record.

For as long as city recorder Sheila Cox can remember, the city of Roseburg has published its project-related public notices in Douglas County’s general circulation newspaper, the .

But Roseburg, which is eager to find solutions for a budget shortfall, now wants to end that tradition by changing its city code to allow online postings of public notices.

Cities around the state are starting to post project-related public notices 鈥� like bid invitations and requests for proposals 鈥� on their official websites and a state-run procurement site instead of publishing them in a qualifying newspaper. Cities save money, and contractors gain convenient access to project details.

鈥淲e looked at it as a cost savings technique, but we wanted the opinion of our contractors,鈥� said Cox, who conducted an informal survey of contractors before pitching the change. 鈥淲hat we found was that they overwhelmingly support looking for work online opposed to in the paper.鈥�

The cities of Hillsboro, Gresham and Eugene already are making changes. Instead of publishing these notices in a general newspaper, or an industry-specific publication like the Daily Journal of Commerce, they are posting project information on their official websites, as well as the state’s Oregon Procurement Information Network website, known as ORPIN. These cities still post small notices in publications, but they direct contractors toward a different website for more details.

鈥淲e needed to find cost-cutting opportunities, and this seemed to be one of the most glaring ones,鈥� said Paul Edwards, a purchasing agent with the city of Hillsboro, which has been using ORPIN for about a year. 鈥淲hat we’ve learned is that there really isn’t any downside. Besides being a single source for opportunities, there are lots of contractors using the site, it’s quick and it’s pretty simple.鈥�

Hillsboro publishes bid invitations and RFPs on ORPIN, as well as on its own website, for any project worth less than $250,000. When that threshold is broken, the city advertises the project in the 91视频. Land-use changes and other public notices are published in the , the city’s general circulation newspaper.

ORPIN allows public entities 鈥� like cities, counties and school districts 鈥� to join the site at a cost based on their budget ($50 to $5,000 annually), and post bid invitations. Contractors can then sign up for site access, review potential projects and, in most cases, submit bids electronically.

Presently, 108 of Oregon’s 245 cities are signed up for the Oregon Cooperative Procurement Program, which provides access to ORPIN. There are 46,000 suppliers signed up for the website, and 55 percent have Oregon addresses.

Debbie Rogers, marketing manager with Hennebery Eddy Architects, a Portland firm that has gained work through ORPIN, said she likes it. However, the firm searches for work in other places, she added.

鈥淚 like it because it’s a great single source for job opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it’s only one of a whole range of options, and it’s far from the definitive solution.鈥�

Hennebery Eddy uses a similar site to find work at the federal level, and visits websites where organizations like TriMet and the Portland Development Commission list information about their projects.

But Clark Gallagher, publisher of the Argus, believes that while posting a notice on a website is great, it doesn’t accomplish what posting it in a newspaper does.

鈥淚t’s not even about the revenue to us; it’s the public’s right to know,鈥� Gallagher said. 鈥淚t’s a gerrymandering deal where the people that use the site and know about it are being given a distinct advantage over those that don’t.

鈥淚 feel like calling the mayor and telling him to knock this off. The public servants are sidestepping the public’s right to know in order to save a few dollars. We are being treated as the low-hanging fruit.鈥�

Most newspapers publish their public notices and job opportunities online. Also, newspapers have posted notices since the country was founded, so people know where to find them.

鈥淚f cities start publishing their projects to their websites only, we would still have to visit each one like we do with newspapers,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淚t would be great if there was a clearinghouse that contractors could go to and find out about every project, but it’s just not feasible.鈥�

Hillsboro would prefer to have its own site for posting projects and associated documents, Edwards said. But he pointed out that the cost of maintaining such a site would be prohibitive.

Dianne Lancaster, chief procurement officer with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, the office that oversees ORPIN, is proud of the website’s success. She added that the intention never was to compete with newspapers or project centers.

鈥淭his all started as a cooperative buying program for public agencies, and only recently has trended towards being used to post work opportunities,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd even though things are inevitably going towards the Web, we don’t have the capacity in our database, or the funds to provide the capacity, to store all the details required to bid these projects.

鈥淧ublic notices may go online, but I can’t see public notices in newspapers, or project centers like at the 91视频, going away for good.鈥�