LAKE COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday decided to postpone indefinitely its discussion about establishing a fee for Mediacom to provide funding for Channel 8.
The move came after staff informed the supervisors that both city councils had not formally approved the charge for the cable television provider.
Earlier in the year, representatives of Channel 8, the county”s Public, Educational and Government (PEG) station, presented the idea of a 1-percent fee for Mediacom, which would be passed through directly to cable subscribers.
Local governments can charge cable operators a fee of up to 1 percent of their gross revenues to help fund PEG stations.
Channel 8 board members have said the station needs the additional funding to remain active, improve equipment and hire a paid manager.
The BOS previously indicated support for the concept as long as the two other governmental bodies also implemented the fee.
The Lakeport City Council discussed the idea last month but did not vote on an ordinance that would have established the fee in its jurisdiction.
Several Lakeport council members wanted more feedback from the city”s Mediacom customers before forcing the cable company to add another charge.
Lakeport staff has said there is no timetable for when the council will discuss the fee again.
The Clearlake City Council briefly talked about the issue at its meeting last Thursday and continued its public hearing to an unspecified future date.
District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown said he didn”t want the BOS to take a position that could influence the votes of the two councils.
There would be no harm in the BOS acting Tuesday, District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said, referencing language in the proposed county ordinance that would make the law void if the fee was not approved by both cities.
A majority of the supervisors, however, agreed with waiting, and the BOS ultimately chose to postpone its talks about the pass-through fee indefinitely.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
