Joliet voting on end to print version of city newsletter

The Joliet City Council will vote Tuesday whether to end the print version of the city newsletter.

The city of Joliet mails out a quarterly newsletter on city business to residents that may have seen its last mailing depending on how the council votes.

The city also has an electronic version of the newsletter and plans to move to an online-only newsletter with the possible exception of a print version for an estimated 4,800 households believed to have limited computer access.

“In feedback from the community, we were often told that by the time residents received the mailed version of the newsletter it was outdated, they didn’t receive it, or they received multiple copies,” city spokeswoman Rosemaria DiBenedetto said in an email. “Many communities are moving to an electronic newsletter to reach more demographics; to be more environmentally friendly by using less paper; and to save on printing, postage, and delivery costs.”

The council’s Legislative Committee on Thursday voted to recommend ending the print version of the newsletter.

The city pays about $25,000 per newsletter mailing, according to its contract with Liberty Creative Solutions. The contract allows the city to terminate the agreement at any time.

DiBenedetto said the city is considering continued mailings of printed newsletters to those households considered to have limited computer access.