Cable Revenues Are the Key to Kell’s ‘City’

“Keys to the City,” the elaborate monthly television show featuring Mayor Ernie Kell, is the beneficiary of a surge in revenues generated by the cable television franchise in Long Beach.

The city’s share of revenues generated by the local cable operator, Simmons Cable TV, has climbed from $179,248 in 1983 to more than $1.1 million this year, and most of the money is earmarked for “Keys to the City” and other city cable programs. The city receives 5% of Simmons’ revenues.

City officials say the revenues could be used for general purposes, such as hiring more police or fixing up parks. But a 1982 ordinance also gave officials the option of using all of the cable money to fund city cable programming.

“As the revenues grew, the opportunity was taken to expand the (city’s programming),” City Manager James C. Hankla said.

The city’s telecommunications bureau is in charge of such programming, which includes broadcasting City Council meetings and producing public service videos for city departments. Last year, the bureau launched its most ambitious effort, “Keys to the City.”

And while many city offices have been ordered to cut spending, the telecommunications bureau’s budget has doubled to $1.1 million in the last two years, in large part to pay for the program featuring the mayor.

Councilman Warren Harwood, chairman of the council’s Economic Development and Finance Committee, complains that the council was not told about the growth in cable revenues or about the plans to fund the new program spotlighting the mayor.

Hankla argued, however, that “if we specifically brought everything to their attention that is in the budget, we’d never get done with the budget.” He also said that the City Council can redirect the allocation of cable revenues if it is unhappy with the budget for city cable programming.