Nobody likes deadlines, but deadlines are a fact of life in our complex society, and the surest way to get things done in a timely fashion. However, sometimes deadlines can be arbitrary and suited only to the needs of one party in a transaction, usually the most powerful one, as in the recent county school board's decision to close three schools.
There's another arbitrary deadline looming, and if you get your TV from Comcast, it's bound to affect you. A new 10-year agreement with the cable giant is set to be approved for the county Feb. 11 by the nine members of the Carroll Cable Regulatory Commission (CCRC). The CCRC is composed of one representative from each of the eight municipalities and one from county government. Here's the problem — the agreement wasn't released to the public for review and comment until Dec. 11 at the height of the holiday season, though the CCRC has been negotiating it with Comcast for the last six years.
The initial 10-year agreement was signed in 2000, and there have been a number of extensions granted while negotiations proceeded. Aside from the CCRC, the Community Media Center (CMC) is the prime player and would-be beneficiary of the deal, but it has been completely excluded from the process. The CMC has understandably asked for a 90-day extension to better review the document and solicit comments from the public and other interested parties. But the CCRC has refused and is barreling full steam ahead to the Feb. 11 date.
There are many things wrong with the deal that deserve attention and correction. For instance, the 2000 contract gave the CMC a $500,000 grant, a facilities renovation grant of $300,000, and annual grants of $75,000 to buy equipment and program the county's five public access, educational and government channels. The miserly new contract only awards the county with an annual capital grant of 85 cents per subscriber per month and a one-time technology grant of $40,000 to the public schools. If you've been paying attention, you know that the subscriber base for cable TV has been eroding annually as more and more families switch from cable to the Internet and home satellite dishes. This means that the dollars provided to the CMC will most likely dwindle each year unless more homes are wired up, a doubtful development given the drop in new housing.
Restricted funding threatens to compromise the CMC's mission and its ability to continue and grow its partnership with the nearby Carroll County Career and Technology Center. Each year, more than 40 students use the CMC's facility to learn skills for potential media vocations.
Another concern is that, with the new deal, the towns and cities will no longer be able to watch each other's municipal meetings. A single municipal channel segmented for each town and the city will be the new norm. This can't help but decrease transparency in government and erode vital dialogue among the towns.
Incredibly, the new deal offers only one high-definition channel, and it won't be provided until two full years after the effective date of the agreement. No explanation is given for the long delay. The previous contract called for a technical review between the fifth and seventh year to determine whether any alterations were warranted. Though change is inevitable, the new contract affords no such review.
Suffice it to say that it would be foolhardy to rush for approval Feb. 11. Since the original agreement ended in 2010 and it has taken six long years to get to this point, I don't see the harm in waiting another 90 days to better involve the CMC and the public.
The problem may be administrative. The CCRC is supposed to have bi-monthly meetings to discuss the status of the Comcast deal and solicit public comments, among other agenda items. However, in 2015 the commission met only twice — on Nov. 10 and Dec. 12. In 2014, it met five times. One would think that in the year preceding the release of a big new contract and after six years of negotiations there would be more than two public meetings. Color me curious.
Let's slow the horses down and allow time for a thoughtful review and comments on the new contract. The essential role of television in our homes, schools, community college, towns and county seat is much too important to do otherwise.
Frank Batavick writes from Westminster. His column appears Fridays. Email him at fjbatavick@gmail.com.
