Dexter Village Adopts 'The Sun Times' as Newspaper of Record

Dexter Village has a new "newspaper of record" following a vote by the village council at its meeting on Monday.

The council voted 4-3 to transfer the publication of its meeting minutes and other public hearing notices for the Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Commission, annual budget, and ordinance adoptions from The Dexter Leader to The Sun Times News.

Speaking to Patch.com after the meeting, President Shawn Keough said his rationale for casting the tie-breaking vote was based primarily on circulation numbers.

"Our goal as a council should be to get as much information as we can in front of as many residents as we can," he said.

The Sun Times is delivered free to every household in the village, while the current circulation of The Dexter Leader is 2,187, of which 223 copies are sold in newsstands, according to information provided to the council from Courtney Nicholls, assistant village manager.

Council Trustees Jim Carson, Donna Fisher and Julie Knight voted against the change.

"I have a hard time associating The Sun Times as our newspaper of record," Carson said. "If I were a Dexter Village resident looking for government notices, I would look in the Dexter Leader first."

As part of the change, The Sun Times, based out of Stockbridge, offered the village a 10 percent discount for legal notices, as well as two quarter-page display ads free for 2013.

"The decision to go with The Sun Times was not based on money," Keough said.

In 2012, the village spent $1,500 to publish its minutes and $1,400 for public hearing notices and ordinances in The Dexter Leader, according to Nicholls.

Upon hearing of the news, some Dexter residents posted regret on Dexter Patch's Facebook page.

"This is a sad commentary on our times. I know the staff of the Leader, and it has been a cornerstone towncrier of Dexter and and its surrounding communities," Mark Olexa wrote.

While unforunate, Margaret Govaere Steptoe, said she believes the decision was made out of necessity.

"It used to be easy to get your club news in the Leader, but that has drastically changed. The village is just doing what it has to do," she said.

What do you think of the decision to use The Sun Times as Dexter's newspaper of record? Tell us in the comments.