Press Release
From: Valley VOTE
Valley
Voters Organized Toward Empowerment
14622 Ventura Blvd. #424, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403
Contact: Joe Vitti
Email: javittisr@cs.com [818] 366 1668
Valley
VOTE Press Release
Date:
8/12/06
The Valley VOTE Board of Directors has approved the following.
Resolution Regarding Cable Television Franchise Renewals
RESOLVED, that Valley VOTE encourage the City of Los Angeles to require providers of video services that are subject to AB 2987 to provide access to view, at their subscribers' convenience free and on-demand, all meetings of the City Council and its committees, City Commissions, press conferences by City officials, meetings of neighborhood councils that elect to have their meetings videotaped or digitally recorded and broadcast, and meetings of any other government entities or civic groups that may become certified by the City.
RATIONALE
Presently, only meetings of the City Council and certain Commissions are available to residents of L.A. via cable television. Such access is via Channel 35, which broadcasts such programming on a fixed schedule that does not take into account the viewers' convenience as an on-demand service would.
Free on-demand programming is presently offered by the dominant cable television provider in Los Angeles, Time Warner Cable. Time Warner Cable presently offers to its digital cable subscribers on-demand access to certain programming, some of which is free of charge and other of which is pay-per-view. In other words, the technology is already being used.
Unless the City demands that the cable (and other video) providers offer free on-demand access to city government-related programming, the operators are unlikely to undertake this service on their own. Once this requirement is in place, then the governmental entities and approved civic organizations can begin to provide the content for broadcast on demand.
Richard Bort, Chair of Valley VOTE’s Finance Committee, and the originator of the resolution said, “We are fully aware that the City-operated Channel 35 broadcasts a regular schedule of live and recorded meetings of the City Council and several of the City’s high-profile commissions. However, there are many important meetings residents cannot attend or view. Furthermore, the hectic schedules that most residents have, make Channel 35’s current programming schedule inconvenient for many.”
APPROACH
Under AB 2987, the City will continue to receive franchise fees from the cable operators as well as the telephone company providers of video programming. By City ordinance, 40 percent of such franchise fee revenues are dedicated to the City's "Telecommunications Development Account," which pays for operation of Channel 35.
Historically, the annual receipts into the Telecommunications Development Account have exceeded the amount of disbursements, resulting in an additional annual contribution to the General Fund (over and above the 60 percent of franchise fees that go directly into the General Fund). Moreover, the City's budget for the current fiscal year (ending June 30, 2007) shows a balance forward in the Telecommunications Development Account of more than $4.4 million.
The City, through its Board of Information Technology Commissioners (BITC) and the Information Technology Agency (ITA) should use all funds available through the Telecommunications Development Account to provide equipment and staffing necessary to videotape or digitally record these public meetings and deliver the recorded programming to the video service providers.
Valley VOTE Mission Statement
Valley VOTE, a diverse coalition of San Fernando Valley residents, business people, educators, community activists, and organizations, is committed to exploring and implementing programs that empower the people of the San Fernando Valley and the City of Los Angeles, including opportunities to improve local governance, education and public participation on policy matters.
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