Unclear Rules Governing Local Non-Profit Studio Delay Contract Renewal
By Monrovia Weekly
Published: Monday, June 15th, 2009
Monrovia Council Members Ask KGEM for Openness in Membership, Record Keeping and Public Input
Unlike most cities in Southern California, whose government and cable access channels are produced and programmed by a city-owned and operated studio, Monrovia’s channels are managed by a non-profit organization called Community Media of the Foothills (CMF) which either produce content for and/or program and administer three channels in Monrovia, as well as channels in Sierra Madre, San Marino and, most recently Temple City.
As opposed to being employees of the city, Community Media of the Foothills is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization whose members vote to elect a Board of Directors. The nine volunteers who make up the Board of Directors then set policy, the budget and hire the lead staff.
While this distinction between city-owned airwaves and those under the direction of a city-contracted non-profit may seem inconsequential, the arrangement has led to questions among citizens and council members regarding membership fees and, more generally, whether or not the organization, whose funding comes largely from city contracts, should comply with the same Brown Act standards of transparency and openness to which all fully governmental bodies must abide.
The issue was discussed at the May 19th City Council meeting in which Councilmen Tom Adams and Clarence Shaw voiced concerns about the organization’s practice of charging a $25 membership fee to become a voting member.
Deputy City Manager Dick Singer explained the funding structure to the council, saying that there are three sources of funding for the Cable Access programming. Those include Franchise fees, what are called PEG Fees, and 13 cents per subscriber per month. "What is before you," said Singer "is basically the same agreement with the same provisions in it.
The franchise fees, the service fees and the PEG fees that come to us are then forwarded wholly and in part to Community Media of the Foothills." In addition to those there is a 5% franchise fee paid to the City of Monrovia by cable providers, 1% of which is passed along to CMF. "Again, the money that is coming through has not changed in any way."
Councilman Tom Adams expressed concern over the fee specifically because the funding for KGEM comes primarily from the city by way of franchise fees collected from local cable television providers. Essentially, a small portion of every cable-subscribing citizen of Monrovia goes to funding the efforts of CMF and the productions of KGEM TV.
Bob Melisso, Chairman of the CMF Board, then took the podium to explain how his organization complies with public records requests, posting their meeting agendas online and responding to requests in compliance with the Public Records Act and the advice of their legal counsel.
But he stopped short of saying that CMF should be required to act as openly as an elected government. Reading from a statement prepared by CMF’s legal counsel, and stating that this particular paragraph was one that he and the board "are especially sensitive to", Melisso read aloud, "Many people incorrectly believe that each and every document that is received, generated or maintained by CMF and KGEM are public record, subject to disclosure under group provisions of the Public Records Act. This belief is inaccurate."
Melisso said that CMF is very conscious of their duties to the public and that they make every effort to make them aware of what goes on and how decisions are made at the station.
Lance Mungia, the studio’s newly appointed Executive Director, was quick to say following the meeting that the fee would likely be eliminated. Since then, the fee has been eliminated, leaving membership open to all Monrovia residents who wish to join.
"At that council meeting it was suggested that we drop our $25 membership fee, so we did that," said Mungia during an interview at his office inside the KGEM studio in Monrovia. "It was something that I never really had thought much about; I’d always considered it more of a PBS style donation, but the way it was phrased made it more of a fee, so we decided to remove it."
Mungia said that since then CMF has had a number of new members sign up who have actually contributed more than $25. Currently, the organization has around 200 members.
That May 19th meeting ended with the Council members refusing to renew CMF’s contract until the concerns were addressed. Since then, another meeting has passed in which the CMF contract left off the agenda. The upcoming City Council meeting on Tuesday, June 16th, will again address the contract with CMF. Following the revisions to their practices and compliance with records requests and the reception of public comments during open board meetings, CMF leadership hopes to have their contract renewed for another three years.
Taking steps to provide access to their video content on the internet via live streams and archived meetings in but one of the keys Mungia sees to the continued success and relevance of the organization. Additionally, KGEM recently secured a contract to film, archive and broadcast meetings for the City Council of Temple City. Mungia said that contracts from the City of Monrovia currently make up around 52% of the station’s operating budget.
In the end, Mungia is optimistic about the upcoming contract discussion, as well as about the future role of CMF and KGEM in this community and the region as a whole.
"To me, public access is the soul of the community, said Mungia."You know, ABC isn’t going to come out and cover the Monrovia Day Parade. That’s part of the reason that I like living in Monrovia, because we all get to participate first-hand in being the voice of the community."
By John Stephens
Photo Courtesy of KGEM-TV
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