Council to Consider Starting Newsletter

With a lengthy list of options in hand and a pile of sample magazines at their fingertips, City Council members on Monday will consider whether to start a city newsletter.

If they decide to proceed, they will also discuss what type of publication it should be.

Councilman Ray Di Guilio, the main proponent of the idea, said a newsletter is important to give citizens information that might not qualify as news. He cited street and tree maintenance programs as examples.

“I think the community needs to be more informed on a broad-based perspective of things--things that are not necessarily in the newspaper,” he said. “I want the community to feel more connected to the government.”

In March, Di Guilio first suggested that Ventura consider putting out a city newsletter.

After collecting newsletters from 15 cities and comparing methods of distribution, printing and production, along with cost effectiveness, city staff members told the council in a written report this week that funding a newsletter would cost about $40,000 annually.

They suggested that if Ventura decides to start a newsletter, it should combine the publication with a city recreation guide.

But some council members remain skeptical.

“I worry about the political manipulation that can happen,” Councilman Steve Bennett said. “I see the constant and endless what’s-in-it-for-me kind of attitude among some council members, so I worry about the abuses.”

And Councilman Jim Friedman worries about the cost.

“Currently, I don’t see that the city has that money to spend,” he said. “Not when we have streets in disrepair and trees that need pruning.”