Those of you reading this newspaper today obviously get your local news from the Kirkland Reporter.

As the city’s only print newspaper, we provide local news coverage to the widest cross-section of our community – roughly 26,000 households.

Yet, the City of Kirkland designated the Seattle Times as the city’s official newspaper of record in 2007. Before that, it was the daily King County Journal that is no longer in service.

By law, the city must make its residents aware of legal notices, such as public hearings, ordinance summaries, request for proposals, requests for qualifications and bids and land use/building notices. This must be done through a print publication.

What does this mean for you?

You must subscribe to the Seattle Times if you wish to keep abreast of these city happenings. There is certainly a financial burden involved with paying for a newspaper, as opposed to getting one – like the Reporter – delivered free on your doorstep.

But beyond finances, the city should designate the Reporter as its official newspaper of record because of who we serve. Yes, the Times is the largest daily newspaper in the Seattle-Metro area. But who in Port Orchard or Duvall cares about a public hearing in Kirkland? The Reporter offers hyper-local news to a targeted audience – those who truly care about Kirkland City government live and work in Kirkland.

The city justifies its decision to use the Seattle Times because smaller newspapers, such as the Reporter, “do not have the circulation and/or do not publish frequently enough to adequately meet the city’s needs,” according to city records.

But publishing notices is not so immediate that it would require a daily newspaper. According to the city’s Ordinance No. 4082, which designates the Times as the city’s official newspaper, all notices should be published “not less than five days prior to the hearing.” We could accommodate that.

The City Clerk’s Office has also indicated that it does send all notices to the Reporter, but the city cannot control what we do with the information. However, the city can control what is printed by guaranteeing a spot in print via advertising.

Sure, the Reporter would have some advertising dollars to gain if the city designates this paper as its official newspaper. But this is not about money – it’s about providing a service to the city and our readers. It’s about being the newspaper of record in the city we represent.

And Kirkland residents have named the Reporter as their No. 1 source for news about local government, according to a 2012 city community survey, conducted by Elway Research.

In a letter, Kirkland resident Robin Herberger summed it up best: “As long as we’re paying for the survey, I think it would be prudent for the city to take advantage of the results and include the Reporter in its notification process.”

Herberger continues: “Consequences of decisions made by city council members have a major impact on the quality of life for all who live in and love Kirkland. The more people know about what’s going on, the more they will want to participate with their neighbors and have a hand in guiding the future of their city.”

We agree. Publishing public notices in the Reporter would empower the community to get involved. As a direct conduit to Kirkland residents, publishing notices in the Reporter would preserve public access to the legislative process and provide a service without which fewer would know what their elected leaders are up to.