Salt Lake City To Advertise on Web

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) â€” By offering government information and services over the Internet, Salt Lake City has given residents more than they could ask for. <br><br>By selling online advertising to pay

Tuesday, November 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) â€” By offering government information and services over the Internet, Salt Lake City has given residents more than they could ask for.

By selling online advertising to pay for its Web site, however, the city has given local businesses more than they could take.

``It's taking away potential revenue and opportunities,'' said John Saltas, publisher of City Weekly, a free newspaper that relies entirely on advertisements to survive.

``Cities just don't do that,'' Saltas said. ``They're supposed to operate with and spend tax money wisely, not compete with the tax base.''

The publisher of the city's largest daily paper, Dominic Welch of The Salt Lake Tribune, said he has no problem with competition as long as it is fair. He said the city should be required to pay income tax. Or, the city could avoid the contentiousness altogether, Welch said, by charging residents for the online services, which include everything from renewing a business license to paying a water bill.

For its part, the city believes selling ad space is the best way to pay for its Web site and add the services residents want.

``It's a great deal for taxpayers,'' mayor Rocky Anderson said. ``Most people would prefer we generate revenue rather than increase taxes.''

The city hired govAds.com, a division of Columbus, Ohio-based eGovNet.com, to search for advertisers and display their ads on its site. Al Porter, senior systems manager for the city, said govAds.com was selected because it doesn't accept ads from companies or organizations that could cause controversy such as religious or political groups.

The ads, which will start appearing in about two months, ``won't be the flashing type that drive you crazy,'' Porter said. Rather, they'll be subdued descriptions of local companies keen on attracting employees to the area. Each will have a direct link to its home page.

Salt Lake expects govAds.com will find eight companies willing to pay $4,000 per month each to advertise. Forty percent of that revenue will go to govAds.com while the rest will be poured back into the Web site.

Once the money starts rolling in, Porter hopes to buy six computer servers he says the city desperately needs to handle the growing number of people who visit Salt Lake's site to pay bills, search for a job or send a note to the mayor.

Saltas of City Weekly argues that the city doesn't need the advertising revenue because it will save enough money just by offering online services and eliminating the employees now doing the work.

Perhaps. But Salt Lake City is not the only government entity counting on advertisements to keep a Web site humming.

The city of Honolulu and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation already are clients of govAds.com while others, such as the state of Virginia, are considering it.

Even those wary of losing potential advertisers to Salt Lake's Web site can't totally knock the city for going after the potential $32,000-a-month windfall.

As Welch of the Salt Lake Tribune put it: ``I wish we could get that.''

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On the Net:

http://www.slcgov.com

http://www.govAds.com