Tinton Falls weighing launch of cable channel

Grant would fund first phase of project

BY KENNYWALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — Citing concerns over content and costs, borough officials debated whether to move forward with plans for a cable TV channel.

During the Dec. 6 workshop meeting, Business Administrator Gerald Turning Sr. said he has concerns over content that would be broadcast and whether the channel would create too much additional work for borough employees.

“My problem is really with the content and whether it gets reviewed by the attorneys,” he said. “It is going to cause the municipal clerk to keep records of everything [broadcasted] for OPRA [Open Public Meetings Act] requests.

“It is just not simply put up a program, in today’s government it is so much more than that,” he added. “It’s not just $6,000, it is a lot more than that.”

Councilman Andrew Mayer estimated that the borough would need to purchase about $6,000 worth of equipment for the first phase of a projected three-phase project.

Mayer, who has long been a proponent of the channel, said the funding could come from a grant the borough received under a franchise agreement with Comcast.

He said the channel would make it possible for the borough to better communicate with residents.

“We are not talking about broadcasting live meetings, we are just talking about a bulletin board system,” he said. “It is a good amount of money Comcast is putting into this to help us communicate with our residents.

“We would be wasting the money from that franchise agreement.”

Borough Attorney Brian Nelson said the borough must research what stipulations are put on the Comcast grant.

“We do get money from Comcast but those funds can be used to reduce taxes or pay for something else,” he said.

Mayer said he is in favor of the system provided by Televue because it is easy to manage and will allow the borough to connect with the public on news, special events and emergency announcements.

However Turning said he is concerned by the amount of work the channel may create for borough employees.

“I like it, I’d love to have it, but my fear is the number of people it is going to impact … I certainly don’t want everyone in the borough taking out an hour a week.

“I like the product but I’m fearful of where it is going to go and how much work it is going to take.”

Mayer replied that it would be just as much time and effort as operating the borough website.

“The content that we would put up on this government channel we’d have full control over,” he said. “Seeking the individual slides that are shown is no worse than keeping records [of] the website.”

He also said through conversations with officials in other municipalities he learned that the channel would involve about one hour of work per day.

Turning noted that the channel is a personnel decision and therefore would come under the jurisdiction of Mayor Michael Skudera, who was absent from the meeting.

Councilwoman NancyAnn Fama said that the real issue is how liable the borough would be for the content posted.

“My concern about this is I think that you can’t just have anybody putting content up,” she said.

“The idea of putting up an educational channel is not a bad one, it is one that requires a lot more thought,” she added. “There has to be a thorough review of the implications to the borough.”

Fama also said she is concerned that the channel may start small but the work involved may grow over time.

Council President Gary Baldwin said he views the TV channel as a positive, but not a necessity.

“What I see is something that is nice to have but not essential,” he said. “There is just no way to continue with the explosion of costs.”

According to prior discussions, the channel would be fully implemented in three phases, the first being an electronic bulletin board, which is how many municipalities use their channels.

The second phase would be taped video segments that the borough could either produce or obtain from outside sources.

The third and final phase would be to air live events including Borough Council meetings and Community Day.

It is expected that the first two phases would not require large equipment expenditures and that the third phase would involve a larger investment in equipment.

Contact Kenny Walter at [email protected]