The Hillsborough Public Access Letter

Text of a letter from Louise Thompson, executive director of the Tampa Bay Community Network, to the Hillsborough County Commission on a budget proposal to eliminate funding for public-access television:

Dear County Commissioners: 

The County Administrator’s recommended FY 08-09 budget eliminates all funding for Tampa Bay Community Network, the public access cable television channel used by the residents of Hillsborough County to learn new and marketable skills and to produce programming that is not only important to them but is also protected by the First Amendment.

TBCN provides County residents with the training, equipment and facilities to produce their own programming.  This includes programming containing speech that is critical of our elected officials and local governments as well as programming that highlights our elected officials, local non-profit organizations and governmental agencies.  Please note that we are County Community Link Partners and please review our most current annual and quarterly reports [attached] for a detailed listing of all those we are serving.  Also, please note that staff from the Museum of Science & Industry recently completed our video production training and is expected to produce programming featuring MOSI on our channels in the very near future.

It appears that there is more than enough money to have kept TBCN in the budget.  Although the administrator’s budget cuts off all funding [$355K] to TBCN, it contains $900,000 in increases for the Tampa Sports Authority and Tampa Sports Commission as well as a $1.6 million increase to the Tampa Convention and Visitors Bureau and more than $300,000 over the next two years for the Tampa Convention Center.

Please note that TBCN has not received an increase in funding from the County for seven straight years.  Our budget has been stagnant at $355,443 per year although we have asked for increases during every two-year budget cycle.  Please also note that cable subscribers contribute a significant portion of the $27 million in revenue that the County collects from communications services taxes and should, therefore, be able to avail themselves of the services and programming provided by the public access channel.

We turn to you for help in assuring that the public’s voice remains on the cablewaves and is adequately funded.  Please reinstate funding to Tampa Bay Community Network at least at the level previously allotted – if not more.

I will call your offices to set up meetings with each one of you at your convenience.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

TAMPA BAY COMMUNITY NETWORK

Louise M. Thompson

Executive Director