LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors gave initial approval to a pass-through fee on Mediacom customers to support the county cable access station, although questions remain about whether the fee will become permanent due to a change in state law that goes into effect this fall.
The pass-through fee for TV8, the Public, Education and Government (PEG) station housed in Clearlake City Hall, will amount to an estimated 1 percent on the bills of Mediacom customers.
The fee is estimated to bring in between $51,000 and $55,000 annually to the volunteer-run station.
Shawn Swatosh, Mediacom’s senior operations manager for Northern California, reported to the board that 12 percent of customers will see a 35 cent monthly increase on their bills, while 88 percent will see from 74 cents to $1 or more, depending on their video services.
In 2011 the Board of Supervisors had indicated it would support the fee if the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport did. That same year Clearlake approved the fee, with Lakeport following suit in July 2012.
The supervisors have delayed a decision since last year, concerned about whether the pass-through fee actually constitutes a tax.
Proposition 26, passed in 2010, requires that new taxes be placed on a ballot and receive a two-thirds vote of approval in order to be implemented.
County Counsel Anita Grant has been researching the matter. She told Lake County News this week that the matter is still up for interpretation.
“The law’s undecided,” she said.
She told the board that the California League of Cities said such franchise fees can be put in place without going to the ballot, but there are cautions that the matter ultimately must be decided by the courts.
PEG Board Chair Denise Loustalot and Vice Chair Ed Robey asked the supervisors to support the pass-through, citing the need for a reliable source of revenue for the station.
Clearlake City Manager Joan Phillipe also encouraged the board to take the proactive view and see the pass-through as a franchise fee, not a tax.
Swatosh cited a letter Mediacom’s legal counsel sent the board last year which concluded that the pass-through was a special tax and needed to go to the voters.
“They should be the ones to decide,” Swatosh said of voters.
Supervisor Denise Rushing said she wasn’t surprised to hear that Mediacom wasn’t in favor of additional fees. She said the cable industry has been lobbying for decades for decreased franchise fees and less local control.
She asked how the gap would be filled if the county did not have the PEG station.
Swatosh , who at one time had been on the PEG Board, said he had hoped the station would do significant fundraising and appoint a manager to oversee that effort.
If the customers want the channel, they should have the opportunity to vote, said Swatosh. “That’s our position.”
Supervisors Rob Brown and Jim Comstock both held that the fee was a tax, and that Mediacom subscribers should be able to choose.
Brown said it’s a matter of spending someone else’s money, and among the many calls he’s received about the proposal from Mediacom users, none have supported it.
Comstock said the station should seek local sponsors.
“The legal issues are going to be decided by the courts,” Comstock said. “All taxes aren’t fees but all fees end up being taxes.”
Board Chair Jeff Smith, who previously served on the PEG Board, said the channel has tried a lot of things, including sponsorships, to raise funds, but they haven’t worked.
The pass-through would make a difference for the station, he said. “It has so much opportunity.”
“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” said Rushing, suggesting there would be significant community reaction if the station disappeared.
She said she has been concerned about the station’s leadership but believed there has been a positive shift. Rushing said there is a source of ongoing funding available – referring to the pass-through – but that the mechanism probably won’t last long, as the industry has a history of lobbying against local control.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington said he felt the channel has been underutilized when getting out important information to the community, and wanted assurances that the station would work with the county on communicating about issues like invasive mussels. He said he sees a lot of repetitive, slanted content, and wanted to see more diversity.
“We want to do exactly what you’re saying,” said Robey.
Robey suggested the station could get college students to produce shows. He also noted that a seat on the PEG Board is being held open for a representative from the city of Lakeport. “We want to get the whole community involved.”
The board eventually approved the first reading of the pass-through ordinance 3-2, with Brown and Comstock voting no. The second reading is scheduled for April 23.
However, there is still one matter to be settled.
During the Tuesday discussion Farrington asked if the board would be able to rescind the ordinance at some point in the future if it wasn’t pleased with the results.
Grant told Lake County News that she will be researching the answer to Farrington’s question.
It’s a concern because this November, based on changes in state law, the state will take over all such franchises.
Grant said the law appears to indicate that when the state takes over, all local franchise agreements and their terms may remain in place at the discretion of the state, and local governing bodies would not be able to make any changes.
That could mean that the supervisors would not be able to withdraw support for the pass-through if the station failed to show significant improvement.
Grant said she hopes to have clarification on that issue for the board by the April 23 meeting.
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