Exh 8FAGENDA ITEM 8F
FEBRUARY 11, 2002
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM: Tideviews Newsletter
SUBMITTED BY: Jim Hanson, City M
DATE: February 1,2002
BACKGROUND: Atlantic Beach has published, a quarterly newsletter for several years.
About half of the twelve-page newsletter has been devoted to City articles
and the other half to advertising. The only cost to the City has been in
mailing these out to an address list of approximately 6,000 residents.
Those cost have been approximately $4,200 per yeaz. Unfortunately, the
company that handled the publication for us in the past indicated that it
was no longer economical for them to continue with this service. The City
sent out bid invitations to several local printing companies, but no bids
were received for this same level of service.
Staff has developed three options for the continued publication of the
Tideviews newsletter. Pricing has been estimated through preliminary
discussions with two interested printing companies. These options include
switching to a four page quarterly newsletter without advertising, sending
out a two page monthly newsletter (without advertising) and upgrading
our utility bills to a full page size, mailing the bills in a regular envelope
and including a monthly two page newsletter similar to that described in
the last alternative. All options include four color printing. Each of these
options is further described as follows;
Quarterly Four-Page Newsletter; This newsletter would look much the
same as the past Tideviews with the exception of the elimination of
advertising and upgrading to four color. None of the printers that we have
found so far have provided a sales service for advertising in the past. Only
one indicated a willingness to try it in the fixture. However, the sale of the
ads did not significantly reduce the City's cost after upgrading to an eight-
page size. One problem with the quarterly newsletter is timeliness. Many
of the articles/events described have been out of date by the time the
newsletter reaches the public. This has resulted from both the quarterly.
format and from problems with the past publisher. The cost for this level
of service is estimated at $18,400 per yeaz.
Monthly Newsletter; A monthly newsletter would allow for the
development and the publication of a regulaz community calendaz.
Articles would be much shorter and more concise which would in turn
increase the readability of the publication. While each edition of this
newsletter would be less costly to produce than the quarterly four-page
format, it would go out 12 times per year thus increasing mailing costs.
AGENDA ITEM 8F
FEBRUARY 11, 2002
The estimated cost per year to print and mail monthly newsletters is
estimated at $34,260.
Monthly Newsletter with Utility Bill; Because the City already sends
utIlity bills to our residents (both inside the City and in the Buccaneer
Water/Sewer System) it would seem logical that the two page newsletter
could be used as a "bill stuffier" if we upgraded our bills to a full page
format and sent them out in a envelope. This alternative would have the
same advantages as listed in the two page monthly newsletter as well as
some additional features. First, it would solve a recurring complaint from
utility customers about privacy in their utility bills. The present postcard
format does not leave much room for privacy being sent tluough the postal
system. Second, afull-page bill would allow the City the additional
ability to print messages at the bottom of the statement (Happy Holidays,
announce a special event, etc). The cost for this third alternative is the
highest of the three because the postage rate would be increased from 21
cents per bill to 34 cents if it were sent in a regular envelope. Also, the
City would have to buy. or lease several pieces of equipment to accomplish
the bill stuffing and mailing. The total additional cost to the City for this
third alternative is estimated at $55,610.00 per year. For an additional
$2,200 per yeaz, the City could also insert return envelopes with utility
bills. Many customers have requested this benefit in the past. Last, the
distribution of this newsletter would be somewhat broader than the present
mailing list. We send out approximately 7,800 utility bills per month.
The present mailing list, which is based on the postal carrier routes, only
reaches about 6,000 households.
A table showing the cost and advantages for each of the three options is
attached.
BUDGET: The City's current budget is based upon the old price for the Tideviews
newsletter and includes $ 3,400 for postage costs this year. Because this
service is no longer available as budgeted, any of the options above will
require an increase to the budget unless we discontinue the newsletter
entirely..
RECOMMENDATION: Give the staff some direction as to which alternative is preferred. One
option to consider is to postpone some of the additional costs to next
yeaz's budget. For example, if the Commission wanted to go with a
monthly format and full page utility bills, it would be possible to mail out
the monthly Tideviews newsletter using the current mail-out process
through the end of the current fiscal yeaz. If the monthly newsletter is
well received, we could then budget the equipment costs to move to option
three beginning next October.
ATTACHMENT: 1) Chart showing three alternatives.
City of Atlantic Beach Options for Newsletter
AGENDA ITEM 8F
FEBRUARY 11, 2002
Item fall options for color) Quarterly Monthly Monthly Newspaper
Newsletter Newsletter with Utility Bill
0
Printing/Editing $14,200 $21,660 $23,682
Mailing Costs $3,000 $9,000 $9,168*
Mail Processing $1,200 $3,600
Programmnig/Laborand Equipment $22,760
TOTAL $18,400 $34,260 $55,610
Mailing List Size 6,000 6,000 7,800
Improved Timeliness ~ ~
Utility Bill Privacy ~
Return Envelopes Extra $2,200 per year
*Cost in addition to current mailing for utility bills