Publication of Legal Notices by Colorado Municipalities

• Publication year: 1993
• Pages: 59
• Citation: Vol. 22 No. 1 Pg. 59

22 Colo.Law. 59 Colorado Lawyer 1993.

1993, January, Pg. 59. Publication of Legal Notices by Colorado Municipalities

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59

Vol. 22, No. 1, Pg. 59

Publication of Legal Notices by Colorado Municipalities

by Paul D. Godec

©1993 Paul D. Godec

Colorado municipalities almost universally publish legal notices regarding their municipal legislation and other actions. At first blush, several Colorado statutes appear to specify completely the manner for publishing those municipal legal notices.(fn1) Indeed, municipalities arguably must follow such statutory publication directives because "[i]t is a sufficient defense to any suit or prosecution for [a] fine, penalty, or forfeiture to show that no publication was made."(fn2)

On closer examination, however, those publication statutes could create more problems regarding the publication of municipal legal notices than they solve. Unfortunately, state publication statutes contain several arguable, if not actual, internal inconsistencies which make the appropriate manner of publication anything but certain. Such statutory uncertainties also could create another quandary for municipalities. Ambiguous statutory provisions often give competing local newspapers equally plausible claims for the exclusive right to publish municipal legal notices.

However, the Colorado courts have neither addressed nor resolved most of the ambiguities contained in the publication statutes. Courts in other states have construed similar statutory provisions and have reached widely varying conclusions.

This article initially discusses the problematic language in Colorado's existing publication statutes and addresses potential problems arising from the apparent statutory preference for publication in the "most local" newspaper. In addition, the article suggests ways for home rule municipalities to avoid the uncertainties and inconveniences created by the state's publication statutes

Colorado Statutes

Colorado statutes require municipalities to give public notice concerning certain municipal activities by newspaper publication:

All ordinances of a general or permanent nature and those imposing any fine, penalty, or forfeiture ... shall be published in some newspaper published within the limits of the city or town, or, if there are none, in some newspaper of general circulation in the city or town.(fn3)

Similarly, publications concerning payment of municipal bills and awarding of municipal contracts must be published

in a newspaper of general circulation published in the city or town. ... If there is no reliable newspaper published within said city or town, said publication shall be made in some newspaper of general circulation nearest to said city or town within the county...(fn4)

Thus, these statutes apparently contain a strong preference for publishing municipal legal notices in the most local newspaper possible

Other Colorado statutes, however, more extensively and generally specify the types of newspapers in which all municipal legal notices should appear.(fn5) These statutes provide that

[a]ny and every legal notice or advertisement shall be published only in a . . . newspaper of general circulation and printed or published in whole or in part in the county in which such notice or advertisement is required to be published[.](fn6)

If in any county . .. there is no newspaper published therein, such notice or advertisement may be published in any newspaper printed in whole or in part in adjoining county and having general circulation in whole or in part in said county having no newspaper published therein.(fn7)

These more general statutes apparently also contain a preference for local newspapers, but limit the "locality" by county instead of by municipality.(fn8)

These statutory provisions also arguably contain other internal inconsistencies. For instance, some statutes require publication

in some newspaper published within the limits of the city or town or, if there are none, in some newspaper of general circulation in the city or town.(fn9)

A plausible, but absurd, construction of this...