CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A number of concerned citizens spoke out against the Montgomery County Commission’s 2026 legislative agenda, asking the commission to drop or amend the request to “remove the burden” of local governments having to publish paid public notices in newspapers.
Under state law, governments are required to publish advance notice of their meetings, and other information, as paid public notices in a “newspaper of general circulation.” There’s a move across Tennessee to remove that requirement.
‘That’s precisely the role a newspaper plays’
One concerned citizen was Dave Gould of Gallatin, owner of Main Street Clarksville and a chain of similar weekly newspapers around Middle Tennessee. He said the commission should drop or amend the item on the legislative agenda for a number of reasons.
“First, state law already requires that all public notices published in a newspaper must also be published on that newspaper’s website, as well as a statewide website managed by our (Tennessee) Press Association,” Gould said. “So, every time a notice is published in the newspaper, it’s already being published on two different websites.”…