City Threatens Heavy Fines Against Cable Firm for Franchise Violations

A Los Angeles city commission that threatened to revoke the franchise of troubled Century Southwest Cable Television two months ago issued a new threat Friday to levy heavy fines because of its repeated franchise violations.

The Telecommunications Commission approved a measure directing the city staff to tally the maximum fines that could be levied against the company.

Although there are no exact figures on how much the fines will total, commissioners said they are likely to reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and possibly the millions.

One fine for the company’s failure to build a public access studio as required by its franchise agreement with the city is at least $3,000 a day. Company officials have said it may take two more years to build the facility.

Once the fines are totaled, the commission then will have to vote on imposing them.

“Basically, I think the board is going to throw the book at Century, and it’s going to be a long book,” Commissioner Tracy Westen said. “They’re going to get the max.”

The commission also ordered the city staff to set a timetable for the company to correct problems in service and picture quality or face the even harsher penalty of having its franchise revoked--an unprecedented action in the city.

“This is essentially a top-to-bottom look,” Westen said. “We have to put as much pressure as we can to get the company to act.”

Out of the five-member commission, only Harvey Bookstein abstained. He said he preferred the commission move forward with revoking the company’s franchise.

Century Southwest Vice President William Rosendahl refused to comment on the possibility of fines against the company.

But he said Century Southwest intends to cooperate with the city to correct problems in service and picture quality. “I’m confident and hopeful we will be able to work this out,” he said.

Century Southwest is the second-largest cable franchise in the city, with more than 107,000 subscribers. The company’s mammoth system of aerial cables, satellite dishes and electronic control centers extends for nearly 1,400 miles through Pacific Palisades, Westwood, Bel-Air, Griffith Park, Eagle Rock and El Sereno.

For years, the company has been reviled by viewers as one of the worst of the city’s 14 cable franchises.

Susan Herman, general manager of the city’s Telecommunications Department, said the company has 26% of the city’s cable viewers, but generates 42% to 76% of the complaints in any given month.

She said since 1988, the company has received 38 letters from the department complaining of franchise violations.

In December, the commission held a public hearing to let subscribers vent their complaints against the company. Hundreds of Century customers attended the rancorous hearing and attacked the company for its poor service, rude employees, long waits for service and incompetent repairmen.

The company is in the process of a $50-million renovation of the system, which is expected to be completed in 1991.