Lost in the media coverage of the budget difficulty of the County and the City because of declining revenue and increasing costs (“structural deficit”) is the pending request by PAC 14 to make a special deal for substantial funding for five years. At a recent work session of the County Council, PAC 14’s spokespersons – Phil Tilghman and Marvin Long – tried to get the Council’s consent to that deal. Fortunately, they were not successful. But don’t think we have heard the last of this shenanigan, especially given Tilghman’s close political affiliation with Rick Pollitt.
And they are asking that the City of Salisbury also make a similar “memorandum of understanding” that would include the obligation to provide a large subsidy to PAC 14 for five years. During that period, substantial funding for PAC 14 would be included automatically in the County’s and the City’s budget, even if the current fiscal problems and structural deficit continue so that funding for roads, public safety, etc., must be cut even more than they have been, which seems likely to occur.
At a recent work session of the Salisbury City Council, the usual majority of three (Smith Comegys and Shields) appeared to favor doing the PAC 14 deal.
So far, Rick Pollitt and Jim Ireton seem to be silent on the subject, but there is cause for concern. Besides his affiliation with Pollitt, “Dr. Phil” also has influence with Ireton, who has been closely involved with another PAC 14 proponent, Michael Pretl.
Do you support the special deal that PAC 14 has requested? Please make a comment.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
12 comments:
NO!
Close it down its a joke and a tool for some of the wicked.
FIX our roads not some bs program that is run by these dudes.
let pac 14 get their fundin like n.p.r. and p.b.s. gets theirs....put good prgraming on and then beg for the money
They should have to fund themselves. Lets see where Rick stands on this issue, Roads & Essentials over Pac 14. We know he prefers non-profits over roads & essentials. We all know that Rick & the Good Ole Boys will side with Pac 14, but I want it in their own words. Then we will again have proof of their physical irresponsibility in budgetary decisions. This will definitely make the issue of eliminating the tax cap by Rick very interesting in the next election. Also why Rick needs more money for the County with this type of irresponsible budgetary handouts if he approves such, which is his MO.
Joe-City residents who are Comcast cable subscribers already pay PAC 14 $36.00 per year, per household!This is listed as a franchise fee ( or something to that effect) on the Comcast statement.I'm mad as hell about that alone,
not even considering what they hope to milk from the public in the future.
2 years ago, I spoke with one the good city council members about this, and she didn't seem to have any interest in the topic. In her defense, she had an awful lot on her plate at the time. Hopefully she and others will take a strong look at what is being or will be requested from PAC 14 in the future.
P.S. Have you ever noticed how horrible their audio and video is when they cover city/ county meetings? They have better gear than they're using for these venues, they just would like the public to think that they need more $$$
NO. I live in the rural county and can't get Pac 14. Don't spend one cent of my taxes on this station. Let is go dark!
I have , or had, seen programs on there that were politically motivated. They are wanting to create something with our money just to line their pockets. I heard it said that cable subscriber "were only going to get charged" x amount of dollars on their cable bills and the rest from the county and city. Well, where the hell does that come from? Santa Clause? Might as well put the whole damn thing on our cable bills. I say drop the funding and support the roads and other essential services. It is the only responsible thing to do.
I'm glad we have PAC14. I like watching the council meetings. It's worked fine like it is. It's just public access. It doesn't have to be hoity toity.
When this was first brought forward there was talk of building a $3mil dollar media center.Is this true?
if they want to be a real tv station, let them fund their own enterprise. otherwise why do they need any expansion. it's not as though their programing can't be done without.
let 'em beg as some stated.
So far these comments (mostly) express ignorance. PAC14 is COMMUNITY ACCESS...the public, that's any of us, has the right to produce a show. Almost any club or organization can do it. THAT'S WHAT ITS FOR!!PAC14 does not produce it's own programing for "us" like commercial stations. If you don't like the programming, blame your community. It is outrageous to gripe about shows your very neighbors are making, while so many of you sit on your butts. Perhaps you'd like to switch to one of those wonderful "shopping" channels Comcast so generously provides.
The viewers being Comcast customers, are the only ones who pay the franchise fee anyway. Since I pay that fee, I want something back for that money. Something related to the service the fee comes from. This wasn't supposed to be a cash cow for the city/county from inception. You want PAC14 to go away, fine, then I want the franchise fee to go away too. I don't need an extra city/county tax on my TV.
If you critics want less involvement, ask why previous councils negotiated a 15 year contract with Comcast offering nothing for PAC14 or the community in general. It was a sweetheart deal for the cable company pure & simple. Comcast in other areas has provided community access with equipment, funding etc.
If you want PAC14 to be self-supporting, understand that the current process is to make PAC14 a true non-profit organization so it can do fundraising like PBS. They can't do that now!(Because of the original organization)
PAC14 does what it can on the few lousy pennies it gets from a "laundered" franchise fee. (That is, the franchise fee is dumped into the general fund, then that is used to fund PAC14) Comcast skates on their obligation to the community, they even charge PAC14 a cable bill!!The PAC14 equipment is now 10 years old and wearing out. It's the only outlet Wicomico community groups have for outreach and education. The programing comes from volunteer folks making their own shows.
From some of the commentary here, one would think PAC14 was really peeing in your cereal. As an old friend of mine used to say, looks like a bunch of folks know as much about public access TV as my butt does chewing tobacco...
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