Watertown City Council Names Watertown Current Official Newspaper of Record
- Steve Jurrens
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown City Council voted unanimously on August 3, 2026, to adopt Resolution No. 26-28, formally designating the Watertown Current as the city’s new official newspaper of record and updating standing policies to streamline municipal payment approvals.
The resolution replaces a previous standing policy framework established in 2013 and introduces two major administrative updates alongside standard municipal authorizations.
Watertown Current Named Official Paper of Record
Effective September 1, 2026, all official legal notices, meeting minutes, rezoning announcements, and monthly financial claims for the City of Watertown will be published in the Watertown Current.
City Manager Alan Steger informed the council that the city spends approximately $25,000 annually on required legal notices. While maximum publication rates are set by South Dakota state law, switching to the Current offers distinct operational benefits and minor cost savings.
“We’re not going to really see a significant change in the fees other than the Current is going to prepare the affidavit of publication at no charge versus $5 that we currently pay,” Steger explained. “What we will see here, though, is a change in the service level where we will be able to work with local staff to ensure that we’re hitting publication deadlines, where under the incumbent, it is oftentimes problematic trying to hit tight deadlines.”
Troy McQuillan, owner and publisher of the Watertown Current and 100% owner of Aberdeen-based McQuillan Creative Group, Inc., addressed the council during the meeting. McQuillan shared how regional newsroom closures by corporate media entities inspired his group to launch community-focused papers, starting with the Aberdeen Insider in 2023 before expanding to Watertown.
“We now currently, as of today, have a staff of six here, full-time employees,” McQuillan told the council, introducing local staff members in sales, editorial, and office management. “We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to be the paper of record for Watertown.”
Councilman Michael Heuer commended the publication’s local focus and community investment:
“Having a truly local newspaper that’s showing us sports events, what our kids are doing, the forensics team going to state, all those things was sorely missed. Having that back in our community just adds so much to our culture, our sense of community, and our connectedness.”
Modernizing City Payment Processes
In addition to the newspaper designation, Resolution No. 26-28 adopts Governance Policy GP-03, which authorizes the City Manager to review and approve claims, bills, and payroll for payment. This removes routine warrants from the City Council’s biweekly consent agenda.
Under Item 4 of the new policy, the Chief Financial Officer is authorized to issue payments for time-sensitive obligations—including freight, postage, travel, utility fees, debt service, and contractor obligations—prior to the completion of the regular monthly claims cycle.
Steger emphasized that financial transparency remains intact. Council members will continue to receive advance copies of all bills and payroll reports, and every approved payment will still be published monthly in the official newspaper as required by law.
Councilman Heuer noted that the change addresses longstanding inefficiencies faced by vendors working with the city.
“I think that’ll be just so beneficial to the city in general to be able to act more like a business would and just pay the bill when it comes in instead of making the contractor or whoever we’re working with wait the entire 30 days for it,” Heuer said.
Council Action
The resolution also reaffirms standard administrative delegations, allowing department heads to open bids and authorizing the Chief Financial Officer to schedule public hearings and process raffle notices pursuant to state law.
Councilman Heuer moved to approve Resolution No. 26-28, seconded by Councilman Kyle Peters. The resolution passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.
