BURBANK : Cable TV Service Is Topic of Forum

Trying to get a sense of how residents rate their local cable television service, the city of Burbank has scheduled a public forum next week on renewing a 15-year franchise with Sammons Communications.

The franchise, the first the city has ever issued for cable TV, expires in April. And while it is unlikely that Burbank will refuse the renewal, city officials are hoping to get information they need to take to the bargaining table with Sammons, Assistant City Manager Steve Helvey said.

The forum--technically not a public hearing because the city will not be taking action at its conclusion--will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, in the City Council chambers at City Hall. It will be broadcast on Sammons Communications’ Channel 21.

Helvey said the city is trying to fashion an agreement with Sammons that says, “We have to make the rules here that ensure you are a good neighbor and a good service provider.”

Residents who cannot attend the meeting are encouraged to call the cable hot line or write the cable administrator at the Burbank Central Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., officials said.

The forum is the first major attempt the city has made at getting public opinion on the cable service since early 1991 when the city and Sammons Communications hired a firm to survey 400 residents. That survey and another a year earlier gave the company’s service a slightly better than average rating.

Helvey said the city is trying to negotiate an agreement that will allow it to correct problems and get new improvements in technology. He said he expects the negotiations to be completed by the time the franchise expires in April. But he said the agreement might not be signed until the two parties assess the effects of new federal regulations.