Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission Meeting - July 2, 2024

The Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission held a regular meeting on July 2, 2024, at 9:17 AM. The meeting included the approval of consent items, a resolution honoring Elizabeth Rhodes upon her retirement, approval of revised bylaws, direction on SAC Life TV funding, approval of a community grant program, and approval of the fiscal year 2024-25 budgets. Commissioners also received reports from channel licensees and the executive director.

Consent Calendar

• Item 2: Adopted a resolution approving the 14th amendment to the channel license and operations agreement pertaining to the use of public education grant programming channels.
• Item 3: Adopted revisions to the 2024-25 Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission meeting calendar.
• Both items were approved unanimously without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comments were received for consent items or most agenda items. For item 6 (SAC Life TV), a representative from SAC Life TV spoke in support of the proposed $70,000 funding for non-sectarian programming, emphasizing the station's survivability depends on content. He described planned shows including community events, a podcast, and a PTSD project.

Discussion Items

• Item 4: Resolution Honoring Elizabeth Rhodes: Executive Director Bob Davison presented a resolution recognizing Elizabeth Rhodes for her 39 years as executive director of the Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium (SECC). The resolution highlighted her leadership in creating the SEVA program, BestNet, and other educational initiatives. Commissioners and a video tribute celebrated her contributions. The resolution was adopted unanimously.
• Item 5: Revised Bylaws: Staff proposed updates to provide flexibility in scheduling meetings. The board approved the resolution adopting the revised bylaws unanimously.
• Item 6: SAC Life TV Funding Request: The commission considered a request from SAC Life TV (formerly SAC Faith TV) for funding. Due to the California Constitution's no-aid clause, staff recommended funding $70,000 for non-sectarian, non-religious programming. The commission directed staff to bring back a formal funding agreement in September 2024. Commissioners expressed support for the compromise.
• Item 7: Community Grant Program: Staff presented updates to the community grant program based on previous board feedback, including adding DEI impact to the scoring rubric and separating grant and scholarship amounts. The program allocates $200,000 for grants and $50,000 for scholarships in the upcoming budget. The resolution approving the program was adopted unanimously.
• Item 8: Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget: Bob Davison presented the preliminary budgets for the general fund (94A) and PEG fee fund (94B). Key points included:
  • Total expenditures of $12.5 million for the general fund, funded by $10.3 million in franchise fees, $2.1 million carry-forward, and $10,000 miscellaneous.
  • Proposed staffing additions: one senior office assistant and a retired annuitant (former ASO3) for training and continuity.
  • Channel licensee COLA: 4.8% (3.3% general COLA plus 1.5% channel licensee COLA), with a plan to permanently update the COLA policy in September.
  • Revenue distribution to member agencies: $6.7 million proposed for 2024-25, up from $6 million in 2023-24.
  • PEG fee fund: $5.1 million in expenditures, with $3.2 million carry-forward and $1.148 million in reserve. An additional $250,000 recommended for the PEG reserve.
  • Discussion on franchise fee trends: declining due to cord-cutting and AT&T/Consolidated leaving. Comcast revenue also declining.
  • The budget was approved unanimously.
• Item 9: Channel Licensee Reports: SECC (Jessica Rhodes, Peter Skowitski) and Access Sacramento (Donna Dureau, Christina Jeffers) reported on their activities. SECC highlighted the SEVA program with 500 entries, 49 schools, 1,500 student producers, and 41 graduation live streams. Access Sacramento reported on their education program, internship pipeline, and "A Place Called Sacramento" film program.
• Item 10: State Franchisee Reports: No reports were received.
• Item 11: Executive Director Report: Bob Davison updated on personnel recruitment, audit status, marketing outreach, and a survey of non-member agencies regarding fee increases for broadcasting services. Kristen Riggs presented feedback from agencies: most understood the need for fee increases, with preferences for subsidized or actual cost fees. A proposal will be brought in September.
• Item 12: Board of Director Comments: Commissioners thanked staff and congratulated Liz Rhodes.

Key Outcomes

• Approved consent calendar items (items 2 and 3) unanimously.
• Adopted resolution honoring Elizabeth Rhodes (item 4) unanimously.
• Approved revised bylaws (item 5) unanimously.
• Directed staff to return with a formal funding agreement for SAC Life TV in September 2024 (item 6).
• Approved the community grant program (item 7) unanimously.
• Approved the fiscal year 2024-25 preliminary general fund and PEG fee fund budgets (item 8) unanimously.
• Received and filed reports from channel licensees (item 9) and state franchisees (item 10).
• Received executive director report (item 11) and board comments (item 12).
• The meeting proceeded to closed session with no anticipated reportable action.