The President for Association of Manitoba Municipalities says the requirement for local governments to post notices in newspapers is no longer applicable.

Chris Goertzen is referring to Bill 8, which has been tabled in the legislature. If approved, municipalities would no longer need to use newspapers for posting formal advertisements such as public notices, tendering processes or rezonings.

"What was required in the 70's, 80's and 90's isn't necessarily applicable today," admits Goertzen. "A lot more people are looking at other areas for their information."

He says there are other forms of communication that could be more effective.

"Certainly there are online mechanisms where we can get a lot of information out to our citizens," says Goertzen. "I think it's appropriate to look at those as well as websites and possible other forms of communication than simply a newspaper."

According to Goertzen, this topic has really hit the forefront in the last two years and is something AMM has asked the province to examine.

"We want to see municipalities obviously work efficiently and effectively in communication with our citizens," he says. "And sometimes that requires a change in regulation so that we can be more effective and possibly save dollars at the same time."

Goertzen says the requirement to post these notices in newspapers costs municipalities significant dollars. For example, he says small cities will pay between $20,000 and $30,000 annually. The Rural Municipality of Hanover this year has spent $4,600 on public notices.

Goertzen says he looks forward to the discussions surrounding Bill 8.