At last night’s budget workshop, the majority of the Council directed staff to, essentially, take ownership of Naperville Community Television (NCTV17).
I completely understand and sympathize with my colleagues’ desire to see NCTV continue serving our community. They’ve provided real value for years. But I ultimately dissented on raising the SECA funding cap to keep NCTV solvent.
I expected a more rigorous discussion on the prudence of this significant taxpayer investment, but that didn’t really happen.
Here’s a link to the discussion.
I would like you to take a look at the above spreadsheet, and I’ve also included some visual charts.
PEG (Public, Educational, and Governmental) cable TV revenue is one of NCTV’s main funding sources and has been declining for years. The City of Naperville has already been offsetting those losses at accelerated rates each year.
“City Services” covers the cost of technicians who record Naperville City Council meetings, certain commissions, and events like the State of the City address.
Now, SECA funding is proposed to increase from $60,000 to $260,000, which essentially makes taxpayers the owners of NCTV.
And the kicker……even with that additional $200,000, NCTV’s budget is still projected to be $213,000 in the red.
Beyond the financial concerns, we also have to ask:
*Should local government be in the business of owning the local news?
* What are the long-term implications for independence, fairness, and transparency?
I agreed with much of what my colleagues said last night about the value of NCTV. I feel the same way. But I don’t believe our feelings should drive our decisions. What we need is sober, objective analysis.
