SACRAMENTO METROPOLITAN
CABLE TELEVISION COMMISSION

STRUCTURE

The Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Television Commission is a joint powers agency representing seven member jurisdictions: the County of Sacramento, City of Sacramento, City of Citrus Heights, City of Elk Grove, City of Rancho Cordova, City of Folsom, and the City of Galt. The power and authority of the Commission is vested with a Board of Directors which currently consists of eleven Board members:

Five members of the Board of Directors are members of the County Board of Supervisors:

• Supervisor Don Nottoli
• Supervisor Jimmie Yee
• Supervisor Roger Dickinson
• Supervisor Susan Peters
• Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan

Three members are members of the Sacramento City Council:

• Vice Mayor Robbie Waters
• Council Member Sandy Sheedy
• Council Member Kevin McCarty

One member is an appointed representative for the Citrus Heights City Council:

• Council Member James Shelby

One member is an appointed representative for the Elk Grove City Council:

• Vice Mayor Steven Detrick

One member is an appointed representative for the Rancho Cordova, Folsom and Galt City Councils:

• Folsom City Vice Mayor Andy Morin
  • (Ex-Officio member, Rancho Cordova Vice Mayor Robert McGarvey)

The Board of Directors of the Commission meets regularly in public sessions and approves all policy matters by Resolution. The activities of the Commission are governed by the Cable Television Franchise Ordinance, Cable Television License Ordinance, and the Cable Franchise Resolution, as well as applicable state and federal laws.

PURPOSE

The Commission exists to:

1. Administer cable television video franchises in Sacramento County;
2. Assist consumers in resolving their cable and non-cable video concerns;
3. Monitor community programming and grantee funding;
4. Operate Metro Cable 14, the local government cable channel.

a. Administer cable television franchise and licenses in Sacramento County. The Commission's policy is to encourage competition and thus, provide choice for consumers. Since 1987, the Commission has issued many licenses in addition to the initial cable franchise. Currently there are three cable television operators in the Sacramento County region:

b. Assist consumers in resolving their cable and non-cable video concerns. The Commission staff will provide information and file a complaint on your behalf, regarding matters you were unable to get resolved with the cable company after reasonable attempts have been made.

c. Monitor community programming Channel Licensees. The Commission provides funding support and/or cable channels for five community organizations. There are seven community channels available on the local cable systems. These channels are operated by independent organizations, each of which has their own Board of Directors which develop and implement policy for use of the funds and program content (Metro Cable 14 is operated by the Cable Commission). For more information, below are the links to the community channels:

d. Operate Metro Cable 14, the local government cable channel.  Metro Cable videotapes local Sacramento County government meetings for Sacramento residents.

PERSONNEL

The Executive Director of the Commission serves part-time at the pleasure of the Commission. The Executive Director oversees the hiring of the remaining staff, which consists of five permanent full-time staff positions – an Administrative Services Officer, a Sr. Office Assistant, a Production Director, a Program Coordinator, and a Technical Coordinator, as well as part-time Production Assistants.

FISCAL RESOURCES

The Commission is financed by a percentage of the gross revenues of the cable television companies in Sacramento. These revenues will total approximately $13.8 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year. The Commission's Operating Budget of approximately $1.3 million includes Metro Cable 14, the local government channel on the cable system. Another $2.9 million supports six other community-programming channels. The balance of about $9.4 million is distributed to the General Funds of the County of Sacramento and Cities of Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, and Rancho Cordova based on population.

COMMISSION PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE

The Commission meetings are regularly scheduled on the first Thursday of each month and are open to the public. An agenda of the meeting is available to the public upon request and is posted on the Cable Commission Meetings webpage.

Below is the tentative meeting schedule. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are scheduled at 2:30 p.m. at 700 H Street, Room 1450 (Sacramento County Board of Supervisors' Chambers).