LEBANON — Community Access Television, the nonprofit station that delivers local programming to five Upper Valley communities, is having to refashion its business model and rely more on fundraising and partnerships after Lebanon recently decided to no longer pay for the service.
The city, which contributes roughly $134,000 to CATV annually, says it can offer residents online access to municipal meetings for a fraction of the cost.
Lebanon’s leaders also argue they need to cut costs because of the fiscal impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the decision to cut ties is “devastating” for CATV, which relies on Lebanon’s contribution for nearly a third of its budget, which totaled $398,000 last year, said Peggy Allen, chairwoman of the public-access station’s board of directors.
“We think it’s a loss for the community,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We also think it’s a loss for residents of Lebanon because it isn’t just about being able to record City Council meetings.”
While CATV records and distributes video of City Council and Planning Board meetings — they are broadcast on CATV and also available online — it’s also involved in other community projects, Allen said.
Employees recently spent five days shooting, editing and distributing video of Lebanon High School’s graduation, and the organization collaborates on videos with the AVA Gallery and Art Center and Listen Community Services. Local programs spearheaded by Lebanon residents also are covered through the city’s annual payment, Allen said.
City Manager Shaun Mulholland said Lebanon typically delivers two contributions to CATV using money it collects through a cable franchise agreement with Comcast. It sent the first earlier this year and has decided to withhold the second installment of about $67,000, which has created a roughly $56,000 hole in CATV’s current budget.
Mulholland said that’s because the city is relying on Microsoft technology to stream its meetings online. The service, he said, costs about $5,000 a year and will fit into technology upgrades planned for City Hall.
The videoconferencing technology will also be able to record Zoning Board, Conservation Commission and other meetings that normally aren’t covered by CATV, he said.
“So, we can provide a lot more service at a heck of a lot cheaper cost,” Mulholland said on Tuesday. “It’s rare that you have an opportunity where you can dramatically increase services and, at the same time, dramatically decrease cost.”
The decision to drop CATV also comes as Lebanon looks to trim about $800,000 from its current budget because of projected revenue losses, according to Mayor Tim McNamara.
“The question is: What can we support financially and what makes sense from the taxpayers’ perspective?” he said, adding that more people are switching from cable to online streaming services.
The move means Lebanon-area residents will still be able to watch meetings online, but they will not be televised, which could deprive older residents who don’t use computers of the ability to follow city government.
About 53% of Lebanon residents still use cable television, according to Donna Girot, executive director of CATV. But that number is declining.
Community access stations across the country are expecting shortfalls because of the coronavirus and the resulting economic downturn.
As more and more viewers switch from cable to streaming services to save money, resulting in a loss of cable franchise fees, the so-called “cord-cutting” could decrease CATV’s revenue between by as much as 9%, Girot said.
Still, the nonprofit’s leaders are optimistic that it will weather the storm, even without the full funding from Lebanon in 2021.
The station recently received a grant from the federal Paycheck Protection Program and could see its business model change to one that relies more heavily on donors.
“It means that we need to pivot and start becoming a fundraising organization,” Allen said.
CATV also is in talks with the Hartford School Board to move from its home inside the privately owned Tip Top Building, where it pays rent, to free space at the Hartford Area Career and Technology Center.
Douglas Heavisides, who directs the center, said he’s now drawing up a memorandum of understanding for the move, which would take place later this year.
“This is just a great opportunity for collaboration,” he said. “I really believe in what they do. I believe in their mission and transparency for government.”
CATV’s remaining towns — Hanover, Hartland, Hartford and Norwich — also remain committed to continued funding, according to officials in those communities.
“We hear from lots of our residents that they count on that for access to meetings and information,” said Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin, who is also vice chairwoman of the CATV board. “We think it’s important that we maintain the activity.”
Lebanon Superintendent Joanne Roberts said Wednesday that she’s also planning to meet with CATV to work out a contract. The district relies on the station to cover its bi-monthly School Board meetings.
But even with that support, CATV may still have to take a look at its budget, a difficult task considering it’s already made staffing cuts.
The organization recently cut excess spending and trimmed its staff from five full-time employees down to three because of worries over new federal regulations.
The Federal Communications Commission voted, 3-2, in August to adopt new rules that essentially allow cable providers to defund public access channels.
The decision lets cable operators assign value to “in-kind” services — such as cable service to schools and libraries, as well as the value of public access channels themselves — that they provide for free under the terms of a franchise agreement with local cities and towns.
Cable operators like Comcast are then allowed to deduct the value of those services from its franchise fee, cutting the funds that go into community organizations like CATV.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.