Friday, April 07, 2000

Cities: Cable bills stifle competition

---

BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        OXFORD — City Council members are concerned about proposed state legislation they say might hinder cities' abilities to offer cable and telecommunications services.

        This week, council unanimously approved a resolution to oppose state Senate Bill 67 and House Bill 188, which supporters say would provide for fair competition by taxing community-owned cable systems like their private counterparts.

        Mayor William Snavely said Oxford is not thinking of building its own cable system. “We just think it (opposing the bills) is the right thing to do,” he said.

        The legislation would es tablish a state policy on regulation and competition, impose restrictions on funding of cable operations owned or operated by cities and townships, and treat government cable operators as businesses for taxation purposes.

        The bills also would designate the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio as the franchising authority for government cable operators.

        The proposals would hinder cities' abilities to offer cable and telecommunications services to their citizens, said Bruce E. Drushel, chairman of the Oxford Advisory Utilities Commission.

        “The economics of the cable television and telecommunications industries make it extremely difficult for a pri vate company to enter into a market the size of Oxford to compete with an established provider such as Time Warner or GTE,” Mr. Drushel said in a letter to Mayor Snavely.

        “Therefore, in many instances, the only viable competitors to these providers are municipally owned ventures.”

        City Manager Mark Roath said council is concerned about “further encroachment of city powers and taxation issues.”

        The Mayors Association of Ohio also is opposed.

        Its president, William Runkle, mayor of Bryan, Ohio, maintains that the legislation would “establish debilitating precedents for any municipal services that could conceivably be offered by the private sector — golf courses, recreation centers, water, sewer and electric utilities, refuse service, landfills, etc.”

        He said his city is one of only three in Ohio (including Lebanon) that have formed their own broadband fiber- optic network to offer a competitive cable option.

        He said the legislation will benefit the private cable firms, not consumers.

        Lebanon's system is 1 year old.

        “I think we've been an unqualified success,” telecommunications director Jim Baldwin said.

        Cable television in Lebanon costs $20.98 for a standard package, about a third less than what Time Warner charges for similar packages elsewhere.

        Critics say, however, that the cost to the city — $8.2 million — is too high.

        One problem is that cities and villages face significant hurdles — including high start-up costs — when they seek alternatives to private cable monopolies, Mr. Drushel said.

        “Additional restrictions on cities and villages can only tip the balance in favor of private monopolies and make competition from publicly owned entities more difficult, if not impossible,” he said.

       

---

Weird weather due for weekend
Readers cry foul over ballpark design
City supervisor put on paid leave
Driver who wrecked festival gets 141
FWW crackdown widens
Teacher's union losing president
Bad time to switch city managers
Preparing kids for a multicultural world
Teach kids to be 'culturally competent'
Minority health fair addresses barriers
Minority scholars program to honor namesake at events
New look, new content coming to the Enquirer
Adult club to open near speedway
Autopsy scheduled on 18-month-old boy
Children report abduction attempt
Defendant admits he killed girl
More students face drug counts
Police chief's leave a mystery
GET TO IT
NBC to bench Saturday night shows
TRISTATE DIGEST
AROUND THE COMMONWEALTH
More summer camps for kids
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
Woman blessed with love for two careers
2 admit 9 Toledo slayings in '80s
3 taken to hospital after leak at plant
ACLU welcomes censorship foe
Cheviot, workers OK pacts
Cities: Cable bills stifle competition
City planner promoted to head
Death for killer upheld
Growth strategies proposed
Kids help school buy curtain
Lebanon names city planner to head department
Paducah teen killer's motives remain unclear
Range of care to be offered
Schools to battle fund cap
Schools to make up threat days
Two more resign from Warren MRDD board
Village, county clash over cash