RES 20-052 IN SUPPORT OF THE PROTECTING COMMUNITY TELEVISION ACT

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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY VILLAGE STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION 20-052 RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE PROTECTING COMMUNITY TELEVISION ACT WHEREAS, the City of St. Anthony is a member of the North Suburban Communications Commission (the "Commission"), a Joint Powers Commission organized pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 471.59, as amended, and includes the municipalities of Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, Roseville and St. Anthony, Minnesota (collectively the "Member Cities"); WHEREAS, the Commission negotiates and manages the cable franchises agreements of the Member Cities and operates North Suburban Access Corporation (doing business as CTV North Suburbs), a local community public educational and governmental ("PEG") access facility on behalf of the Member Cities; WHEREAS, CTV North Suburbs provides coverage of local events, such as local high school sporting events and most government meetings that local broadcast stations (i.e. WCCO, KSTP, KMSP, and KARE) typically will not cover, and, in light of a rapidly decreasing print media, as CTV North Suburbs is the principal, and may soon be the sole, source for local residents to have access to coverage of local events; WHEREAS, CTV North Suburbs is funded through franchise fee and PEG fee revenues negotiated in the cable franchise agreements; WHEREAS, the Member Cities require, as part of the cable franchise agreements, that cable companies meet demonstrated community needs by providing non -monetary in -kind contributions that benefit the Member Cities, local schools, public safety buildings, as well as CTV North Suburbs ; WHEREAS, in 1984 Congress defined a franchise fee as a "tax, fee, or assessment" and, for the past 35 years, it has been solely a monetary fee; WHEREAS, last year the FCC departed from the clear language of the Cable Act and ruled that a franchise fee is both a monetary and non -monetary fee and permits cable companies to unilaterally assign a value to the non -monetary in -kind contributions and then subtract that amount from the franchise fees the cable operator pays the local community; WHEREAS, the FCC order results in decreased vital funding to the Member Cities and CTV North Suburbs; WHEREAS, the Protect Community Television Act (currently S. 3218/HR 5659) has been introduced in Congress and its goal is to maintain the status quo by reversing the FCC order