Council considers cable competition

City Council is considering an ordinance that would open the cable lines to competition. The Multichannel Video Services Franchise ordinance, proposed during council’s Sept. 18 meeting, lays the groundwork for additional companies to enter the cable business in Springfield by allowing new companies to negotiate a build-out schedule with the city.

If negotiations are unsuccessful, new companies would have to adhere to the same build-out schedule that was followed by TeleCable, the predecessor to Mediacom, when it first installed cable service in 1978. That schedule called for build-out within three years in areas within city limits that have at least seven dwellings per quarter mile.

The agreement also calls for the city to receive 5 percent of gross receipts from any cable provider.

Assistant City Attorney Nancy Yendes said the proposal creates a level playing field for potential cable providers.

“This sets down the rules for all who compete,” Yendes told council. “If the requirements are lessened for anyone in the business, anyone else in that business can come to council and ask for the same relaxation of that requirement.”

She added that it also ensures that at some point, “people will have a choice, regardless of where they live.”

AT&T, the only potential competitor to approach council, objects to the ordinance, saying it is too restrictive and gives the incumbent cable provider an advantage. The company is asking instead for looser requirements – a model similar to that used to encourage competition in the phone industry after AT&T’s monopoly was broken more than 20 years ago.

“The master ordinance is a barrier to new entrants who want to compete for cable TV in the community,” said Kevin Vossen, AT&T Missouri spokesman. “(Mediacom’s) network is already built, and it already has a substantial customer base. It’s much riskier to make capital investment when there’s no guarantee of a customer base.”

A Mediacom representative told council that the company is in favor of the ordinance. Mediacom’s current franchise agreement, signed in 1994, expires in 2008.

Council is expected to vote on the proposal at its next meeting Oct. 16.

Sign ordinance alterations

Council considered two different versions of alterations to the city sign ordinance.

One version, which came from the city Plans and Policies Committee, would allow signs on any vehicle, as long as that vehicle is not parked with the purpose of displaying the sign. The second version, submitted by the Planning and Zoning Commission, would allow signs only on vehicles for hire such as taxis and limousines.

The changes came as a result of Emphasis Marketing Corp.’s challenge of a Building Development Services ruling, which said that the company’s taxitop ads were illegal. The Board of Adjustment upheld the ruling, with the recommendation that the ordinance be changed to allow the signs.

The city also is asking for volunteers to serve on a task force to review the sign ordinance as a whole. Interested citizens should contact Planning and Development by Oct. 6.

Audit, investigation budget

The city proposed budgeting $250,000 for the ongoing fraud investigation and state audit, launched earlier this month in response to the discovery that more than $1 million was missing from the city Municipal Court.

Of the allocated funds, $150,000 would go to internal fraud investigation services and $100,000 would cover the cost of the petition-driven state audit.

CU 2007 budget

Council approved City Utilities’ budget for the 2007 fiscal year, which calls for $470 million in expenditures, including $74 million in capital improvements and $182 million in noncapital projects. The budget also includes a 3 percent electric rate increase approved by council in March. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

A water rate increase also was approved, providing an additional $3.3 million for several new projects, including a raw water pipeline between Fellows Lake and Blackman Water Treatment Plant.

The rate increase would be phased in through October 2009.