Council May Seek Power to Regulate City Cable Service : Simi Valley: Officials schedule a special meeting to discuss the issue after learning Comcast Cablevision plans to raise rates.

After learning that the city’s cable television system is moving to dump a low-priced program package, the Simi Valley City Council has called a special meeting to consider seeking the power to regulate local cable service.

During the meeting, slated for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, city staff members will urge the council to apply to the Federal Communications Commission for the right to oversee basic cable television rates and services.

On Aug. 16, council members asked Comcast Cablevision to freeze its rates and services while the city and the cable operator sought to negotiate a better long-term governing arrangement outside the federal rules.

But an Aug. 20 letter from Comcast to the city said changes in rates and services were imminent. The letter caught some city officials by surprise, jeopardizing the talks and triggering the special meeting.

“It doesn’t give one a warm feeling when someone tells you, ‘Oh, by the way, we’ve got to do this first,’ ” Mayor Greg Stratton said Friday.

Yet Stratton said he hopes the city will still be able to strike a local deal with Comcast that is superior to the rates and rules mandated by the FCC.

“I think there was a glitch in the negotiating process,” he said. “It was certainly not what we were led to believe. This has got to be a process built on trust.”

The recent letter by Comcast states that the company wants to eliminate its 13-channel basic service offer. This package provides local television stations, public access and educational channels, all for $10.95 per month.

The cable system instead wants to designate its expanded lineup--34 channels, including CNN and MTV--as the basic service. This package now costs $23.99 per month.

In his letter, Comcast General Manager Greg Mackney said the company needed to make changes in “local price and product offerings” because of new federal cable television regulations that take effect Sept. 1.

Mackney was unavailable for comment Friday.

Since 1984, cities have had no authority to regulate cable television rates. But under a law enacted by Congress last October, cities can apply to the FCC for the right to regulate basic cable rates and customer service standards.

Pay channels, such as HBO and Showtime, will remain unregulated.

In an earlier letter, Mackney had asked the council not to apply to the FCC for regulatory power. Instead, he urged the city to negotiate a direct agreement with Comcast covering rates and services.

He said a local pact would allow Comcast to continue offering senior citizens discounts, which are not provided under FCC rules. He also argued that the company could expand its programming and improve its equipment more easily if it were governed by a local contract.

Several council members said they would prefer to have local control, outside the complex and cumbersome FCC rules. But they said Comcast must freeze its rates and services while such negotiations are under way.

City staff members, in a report released Friday, told the council: “Comcast has made a business decision that they cannot maintain the rates and services status quo while an agreement is being negotiated.”

In the report, the staff members urged the council to seek the FCC authority to regulate Comcast’s basic services. The staff also recommended that the council spend $3,000 to hire a consultant to advise the city on cable television issues.

Mayor Stratton said he would endorse that latter proposal because of the complexity of the new federal cable law.

“It’s like going to court without a lawyer--it puts you at a disadvantage,” he said. “I think we need to get some technical assistance.”