3. Presentation from 2016 regarding Forest Lake Cable Commission optionsForest Lake Cable Commission Discussion
LATV Background
•LATV currently operates Channel 10 and Channel 20
•Films Government meetings for member cities and broadcasts those
meetings
•Operates YouTube and Vimeo Channel
•Offers equipment rental to residents
•Offer VHS to DVD transfer services
•Provides equipment training sessions
•Films community events in both member and non member
communities.
•Governed by a Cable Commission consisting of both elected and citizen
representatives from each of the participating communities
Why are we having this conversation?
•Significant staff transition: Executive Director and the Office Manager
resigned
•Current facility lease expires in October
•Franchise renewal is complete
•Challenges within the organization
•Technology has evolved and there are now multiple avenues to
broadcast videos (YouTube, Vimeo, Snapchat, Vine, Facebook live)
•Public broadcasting is experiencing a decline in views leading to the
message reaching an ever shrinking audience
•Many alternatives to cable now in the market place (Hulu, Netflix,
Amazon Prime)
•Lack of density in communities leads to limited or questionable future
growth
How is the Commission Funded?
•The Cable Commission receives the majority of it’s funding from two
main sources:
•Franchise Fees
•Franchise Fees are fees charged by local units of
government to cable companies as compensation for
placing cable in public right of ways
•Franchise fees are passed on by the Cable Companies and
paid by the subscribers
•PEG Fees
•(P)ublic, (E)ducation, (G)overnment (PEG) fees are fees
collected by cables companies and are intended to “be
used solely to support PEG Access in a manner consistent
with applicable law” (i.e. PEG Capital Purchases)
The Cable Commission also receives a small amount of funding
from the sale of DVD’s and sponsorship revenues.
Subscriber Detail by City
City of Forest Lake
•7441 total households
•2557 Subscribers
•34% subscriber rate
City of Scandia
•1,476 total households
•216 Cable Subscribers
•14% Subscriber rate
City of Columbus
•1525 total households
•252 Cable Subscribers
•17% subscriber rate
Public Access Viewership Trends in Minnesota
•Some Cities elect to provide PEG programming while others do not.
Local examples of those not participating in PEG programming include
Wyoming and Hugo.
•Many Cities are currently evaluating their participation in Cable
Commissions including Maplewood and Lakeland.
•The City of Maplewood recently participated in a survey of residents
designed to gauge the viewership of their PEG Channels.
•The results of the survey showed that less than 16% of subscribers
viewed their Government Channel. The Public and Educational
channels received even less viewership*.
•Only 1% of subscribers used the PEG channels to learn what was going
on in their community, placing this far behind other media forms, (print
and online)*
*Source:http://www.maplewoodmn.gov/1506/Maplewood-Area-Cable-Franchise-Survey
Public Access Viewership Trends in Minnesota
If the numbers from Maplewood’s survey were applied to the households
covered by the Forest Lake Cable Commission:
•479 households or 4% of total community households are watching
government access programming
•29 households or .046% of total households are tuning in for
Community Related programming.
2015/2016 LATV Budget Details
•The total operating budget of the LATV in 2015 was 196,750
•The 2016 approved operating budget is $207,575
2015/2016 LATV Budget Details
FY2015
(FLCC Approved 10.21.2015 Board Meeting)BUDGET 6 Mo Actuals % Budget
DISBURSEMENTS:
NET WAGES --- STAFF 100 $46,300.00 $17,793.59 38.4%$47,600.00
NET WAGES --- EXEC DIRECTOR 101 $13,800.00 $6,279.60 45.5%$14,100.00
NET WAGES --- FILM MAKERS 102 $11,000.00 $6,540.81 59.5%$14,000.00
NET WAGES --- EDITING n/a $3,700.00
PERA:Employee+Employer 121 $12,000.00 $4,726.42 39.4%$12,200.00
FICA, Medicare, Withholding 122 $22,300.00 $9,665.93 43.3%$21,000.00
STATE Withholding 125 $4,000.00 $1,219.60 30.5%$4,100.00
WORKERS COMP INSURANCE 150 $450.00 $452.00 100.4%$550.00
OFFICE SUPPLIES 200 $1,750.00 $484.18 27.7%$1,500.00
OPERATING SUPPLIES 210 $1,600.00 $685.73 42.9%$3,200.00
POSTAGE 215 $200.00 $182.36 91.2%$400.00
REPAIR & MAINT SUPPLIES 220 $200.00 $71.15 35.6%$200.00
SMALL TOOLS/MINOR EQUIP 240 $300.00 $82.43 27.5%$300.00
AUDIT/ACCOUNTING SERVICES 300 $3,600.00 $5,500.00 152.8%$8,600.00
MINNESOTA SALES TAX 301 $750.00 $672.00 89.6%$750.00
LEGAL 304 $1,000.00 $0.00 0.0%$1,000.00
MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSE 305 $200.00 $30.00 15.0%$500.00
TRAINING 310 $400.00 $460.00 115.0%$600.00
TELEPHONE 321 $1,150.00 $649.48 56.5%$700.00
*INDEP CONTRACTOR --- Editing 326 $500.00 n/a
MILEAGE, PARKING 331 $250.00 $93.20 37.3%$250.00
PROMOTIONS & MKTG & WEB 350 $1,500.00 $476.41 31.8%$2,000.00
GENERAL LIABILITY 361 $2,200.00 $1,992.00 90.5%$2,700.00
ELECTRIC SERVICE 381 $3,000.00 $1,437.51 47.9%$3,200.00
REFUSE COLLECTION 384 $350.00 $160.93 46.0%$350.00
EQUIPMENT REPAIR 404 $200.00 $0.00 0.0%$200.00
BUILDING RENTAL 412 $25,200.00 $12,600.00 50.0%$25,200.00
DUES & SUBSCRIPTIONS 433 $550.00 $550.00 100.0%$675.00
OFFICE FURNITURE/EQUIP 570 $500.00 $291.33 58.3%$500.00
NEW EQUIPMENT 590 $30,000.00 $16,614.87 55.4%$30,000.00
LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS 599 $0.00 n/a $1,000.00
REFUNDS AND REIMBURSEMENTS 810 $1,500.00 $966.00 102.0%$1,500.00
RESERVE (General)$5,000.00 $0.00 $0.00
MM SAVINGS INVESTMENT (FRANCHISE RESERVE)800 $5,000.00 $5,000.00
TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS $196,750.00 $90,677.53 46.1%$207,575.00
REVENUE:
DVD SALES 36200 $8,000.00 $7,265.00 90.8%$9,000.00
GOVERNMENT MTGS 36220 $0.00 $0.00 #DIV/0!$0.00
SPONSORSHIP REVENUE 36235 $2,000.00 $1,375.00 68.8%$2,000.00
F.L. ADDITIONAL FRANCHISE FEES 36230 $6,000.00 $6,000.00 100.0%$6,000.00
REFUNDS/REIMBURSEMENT 36240 $250.00 $0.00 100.0%$250.00
FRANCHISE FEES 38050 $127,700.00 $60,589.53 47.4%$138,325.00
ACCESS FEES 38053 $52,800.00 $26,205.00 49.6%$52,000.00
MISC. REVENUE FROM RESERVE--- INTEREST 36250 $0.00 $3.08 0.0%$0.00
TOTAL REVENUE $196,750.00 $101,437.61 51.6%$207,575.00
* This line will be eliminated in 2015 .
FOREST LAKE CABLE COMMISSION
2016 FINAL Budget
FY2015 ACTUAL FY2016 FINAL
BUDGET
Note: The FLCC will notify the cities of any future change. Thank you.
Options to Consider
Option 1: Continue participation in the current Joint Powers Agreement
Option 2: Dissolve the Joint Powers Agreement
Option 3: Pursue dissolution of the current Joint Powers Agreement and
reestablish a more limited partnership between the three cities focused
on governmental programming and reprioritize the remaining funds.
Withdrawal vs Dissolution
Under the current Joint Powers Agreement any member may withdraw
from the Commission after they have given the commission 2 year
advance written notice. After the withdrawal process is complete the
member who withdraws shall be entitled to their franchise fees.
If 2 out of the 3 members wish to withdraw from the Commission the
dissolution process is triggered. The dissolution process states that the
commission should remain in operation for 6 months after the
dissolution date to allow for the affairs of the commission to be
wrapped up.
What happens to the assets in Dissolution or Withdrawal
Under the current Joint Powers Agreement, either the withdrawal of a
member or the dissolution process triggers the same asset interest
procedure.
The procedure involves the inventory and appraisal of all Commission
assets. The assets of the Cable commission are then distributed
according to a formula described in the Joint Powers agreement.
Option 1 Details
Option 1: Continue participation in current Joint Powers Agreement
This option would require hiring a new Executive Director and Office
Manager at LATV and either renewing the current lease or finding a new
space to rent.
This option would result in no changes to filming schedules and overall
programming.
Option 1 Budget Impact
If all 3 cities agree to maintain the current Joint Powers Agreement, the
budget would remain the same.
However, if 1 of the cities decides to pull out of the Joint Powers
Agreement, the budget would need to be reevaluated to account for the
future loss of franchise and PEG fees.
Option 2 Details
Option 2: Dissolve the Joint Powers Agreement
This option would dissolve the current Joint Powers Agreement and not
authorize the creation of a new joint power agreement between current
member cities.
Each city would be responsible for the filming and distribution of their
own government meetings and community events.
Each community would be responsible for its own program origination.
Option 2 Budget Impact
If the current joint powers agreement is dissolved and no other
agreement is entered into, each city would retain their franchise fees
and PEG fees.
The cost of filming and distributing government meetings would be the
responsibility of each city.
The amount of franchise fees available for other priorities would vary
depending upon which filming/distribution option (if any) each city
decided to pursue.
Option 3 Details
Option 3: Pursue dissolution of the current Joint Powers Agreement and
reestablish a more limited partnership (service agreement) between the
three cities focused on governmental programming and reprioritize the
remaining funds.
This option envisions continuing the work that LATV currently does in a
more efficient and cost saving manor. Subscribers would still have
access to the channel 10 and 20, however, slight adjustments to the
programming broadcast would be made.
What would remain the same under option 3?
•Channel 10 and 20 remain on the air
•Government meetings would still be taped and broadcast
•Pre produced shows (Church services, Publicly created shows) would
still be broadcast on the channel
•Big community events (Fourth of July, Vinterfest, Fall Festival) would still
be covered
•Community news/events schedules would be broadcast
•Groups wishing to have their events broadcast would still be able to
access the channel
•Government meetings would continue to be live streamed (Forest Lake)
and archived on YouTube/Vimeo (Columbus, Forest Lake, Scandia)
What Will Change Under Option 3?
•Community event coverage would be streamlined to the most
popular events.
•Free Equipment rental and classes would more than likely no
longer exist
•Filming of Forest Lake High School Sports and events would no
longer be done by staff
•However, if the team/event has someone film an
event/game they would be able to have it broadcast on the
channel 10
•VHS to DVD transfer services will no longer be available
•(Three private companies in the Forest Lake area currently
offer this service, so residents would still have the ability to
transfer VHS to DVD)
Budget Impact Option 3
It is anticipated that Option 3 could be implemented for an annual cost of 30,000
(Staff costs etc)
All of the PEG fees would be used for capital expenses. Cities would be able to
update/upgrade their production equipment.
$52,000 (PEG fees annually)
Using LATV’s 2016 budgeted revenues of $190,325 from Franchise fees and PEG
Fees, Option 3 would yield an annual budget savings of approximately $108,325.
These savings will be realized through a streamlining of services, a reduction in staff
hours, elimination of rent, and a reduction in overhead.
The City of Hugo is currently operating in a situation similar to what is envisioned in
Option 3. They are in a cooperative group (Group w), but all franchise fees are
retained by the City and none go to the group. They hire a videographer to upload
meetings online and they livestream their meetings using an online streaming
service.
Forest Lake Cable Commission Discussion