Are cities and villages required to have an official newspaper for publication of legal notices, ordinances, minutes, etc.?
Cities are required to designate
newspapers for the publication of council proceedings and other city
legal notices. Wis. Stat. sec. 985.06 Such newspapers must be published
in the city, although a fourth class city in which there is no eligible
paper published may designate a newspaper published in the county and
having a general circulation in the city. Wis. Stat. sec. 985.06(2). A
newspaper is “published” at the place from which its mailing permit is
issued, except that if the place where a newspaper has its concentration
of circulation has no primary post office, then it is published at the
place it designates as its place of publication. Wis. Stat. sec.
985.01(5).
A village board may, but is not required
to, designate a newspaper published or having general circulation in the
village as its official paper or use it for specific notices.
Alternatively, the village board may direct that other forms of
publication, such as posting, be used, except that certain cases do
require actual newspaper publication. The statutes specifically require
the publication of: tax redemptions or sales, annexations, detachments,
consolidations, incorporations and notices directed to specific
individuals. Also, if an eligible newspaper is published in the village,
village board proceedings and village ordinances imposing a forfeiture
must be published in that newspaper even if the newspaper is not
designated as the official newspaper. Wis. Stat. sec. 985.05(1).