HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2008.02.07 - 9444REPORT (MISC. 108020) February 7, 2008
BY: General Government Committee, Christine Long, Chairperson
IN RE: MR #08020 — BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — RESOLUTION REQUESTING
PRESERVATION OF CHANNEL LOCATIONS FOR PUBLIC, GOVERNMENTAL,
AND EDUCATIONAL (PEG) CHANNELS
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
The General Government Committee, having reviewed Miscellaneous Resolution
#08020 on January 28, 2008, reports with a recommendation that the resolution be
adopted.
Chairperson, on behalf of the General Government Committee, I move
acceptance of the foregoing report.
GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
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General Government Committee Vote:
Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Gregory, Suarez and Greimel absent.
Miscellaneous Resolution # 08020
BY: Commissioners Tim Burns, District #19, Tim Greimel, District #11
RE: Board of Commissioners — Resolution Requesting Preservation of Channel
Locations for Public, Governmental, and Educational (PEG) Channels
TO: Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS, Comcast Cablevision, is among the companies that furnish or will be furnishing
cable television subscriptions to residential customers; and
WHEREAS, Oakland County cities, villages, townships (CVTs) and other governmental entities
have committed substantial resources to deliver programming on governmental and educational
access channels, also known as PEG; and
WHEREAS, Comcast Cablevision has indicated that it intends to change the channel lineup and
location of the public, educational, and governmental access (PEG) channels from locations
within the basic tier of first 100 channels , where they have been situated for many years, to the
channel lineup in the 900's; and
WHEREAS, Comcast has in its letter of December 7, 2007, to Caren Collins Fifer, President
Michigan NATOA, asserted that digitizing PEG channels along with other channels frees up
bandwidth on the cable system which will provide even more channels and enhanced services;
and
WHEREAS, in actuality such a recommended change will in fact result in Comcast having the
capability to increase equivalent profitable bandwidth of one hundred seventy-seven digital
elements resulting in the potential for additional revenues at the expense of the consuming
public; and
WHEREAS, it appears the actual intention of Comcast is to avoid its community commitment to
provide PEG channels under Section 623 of the Michigan Communications Act for ease,
convenience and use of the cable subscriber; and
WHEREAS, the new placement of these PEG channels would in effect be more likely not to be
accessible nor used by the subscriber due to their location from regular commercial
programming; and
WHEREAS, Comcast, as a commercial provider, is keenly aware that the relocation of the PEG
channels will eventually lead to its determination to abolish such channels in the future due to
inaccessible placement and thereby insufficiency of use; and
WHEREAS, the initial intention of the Michigan Communications Act was to have the PEG
channels in a basic service tier which consists generally of the lower tiered channels and the
current effort by Comcast is to avoid that obligation and responsibility which it had originally
contracted to perform with the Intergovernmental Cable Communications Authority (ICCA); and
Commissioner Tim Burns
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WHEREAS, the result will be added cost, inconvenience, and confusion with respect to citizens
who intend to view educational and governmental access channels; and
WHEREAS, it would appear Con-least is readjusting PEG from the basic service tier in order to
market the more profitable channel position for commercial programs and thereby sacrificing
accessibility of PEG locations now familiar to all subscribers; and
WHEREAS, since Comcases announcement, many citizens have voiced their opposition to the
news that Comcast intends to change the location of PEG channels and require customers to have
digital converter box to receive channels at an unnecessary future additional expense.
NOW THEREFORE, it is resolved that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby
requests Comcast Cablevision to preserve the channel locations for public, educational, and
governmental access (PEG) channels in locations within the first 100 channels of basic tier
service and agree that they will not be changed in the future without the written consent of the
CVTs or other governmental entities which provide programming on such channels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners' lobbyist is
instructed to immediately work with the Michigan Legislature to amend Public Act 480 of 2006
to require that public, educational, and government (PEG) channels remain within the first 100
channels of basic tier service and that they will not be allowed to changed in the future without
the written consent of the CVTs or other governmental entities which provide programming on
such channels.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk forward copies of this adopted
resolution to Comcast, the Oakland County delegation to the Michigan Legislature, the Michigan
Association of Counties, the Michigan Municipal League and Oakland County's legislative
lobbyists.
Chairperson, we move the adoption of the foregoing resolution.
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Resolution #08020 January 17, 2008
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no
objections.
Ruth Johnsok County Clerk
Resolution #08020 February 7, 2008
Moved by Gregory supported by Potter the resolutions (with fiscal notes attached) on the Consent
Agenda be adopted (with accompanying reports being accepted).
AYES: Burns, Coleman, Coulter, Crawford, Douglas, Gershenson, Gingell, Gosselin, Gregory,
Greimel, Hatchett, Jacobsen, Long, Middleton, Nash, Potter, Potts, Rogers, Scott, Spector,
Woodward, Zack, Bullard. (23)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolutions (with fiscal notes attached) on the Consent
Agenda were adopted (with accompanying reports being accepted).
DOES 101NEON COUNTY EXECUTIVE ACTION
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Ruth Johnson, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on February 7, 2008,
with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the County of Oakland at Pontiac,
Michigan this 7th day of February, 2008.