Government across the United States has one purpose – serve the people. That’s also the principle behind newspapers in holding government at all levels accountable and transparent.

We do that locally with news coverage of city and county affairs, and in paid public notices that report the details of foreclosures, tax liens, bond issues, city council ordinances and other vital civic matters.

The publication of public notices is a valuable resource for citizens and government alike. For a citizen, it is a means of keeping up with the actions of government. For government, it is a way to ensure transparency and build trust with the people it serves.

The availability and clear display of public notices through newspapers has alarmingly come under threat from government, particularly at the state level, where some lawmakers want to simply relegate the information to online publishing.

In most places, especially in Alabama, that would be a disservice to the people. Internet access is not reliable in many rural areas.

Even though public notices are posted online by newspapers, including The Times, the print editions of these legal notices remain the most reliable, trusted platform for reaching people. And, the purpose of public notices is for government to inform as many people as possible of actions or intended actions.

With many new leaders preparing to take office at the local level, we encourage all public officials to continue publishing notices in the local daily newspaper, which provides access to the highest number of citizens through both print and online.

Widely circulated information is important to freedom and trust between citizens and their government. Newspapers, through the crucial foundation of the First Amendment, take seriously their role of informing the public about important civic activities and decisions.

We encourage all government officials to join in protecting the publication of public notices in newspapers for the purpose of keeping the community informed and maintaining transparency.