Panel Says Cable Firm Broke Its Promises : Oxnard: Task force finds that Jones Intercable did not upgrade equipment or provide enough local programming.

Members of a task force reviewing the performance of Oxnard’s cable provider say the company has broken its promise to modernize equipment used to telecast city events and has not done enough to produce community programming.

Jones Intercable is nearing the end of a 15-year agreement to provide cable service to Oxnard.

But members of a city committee that has been meeting since last year to review the agreement now say Jones has failed to live up to its end of the bargain in some areas.

Task force members say if Jones isn’t willing to make good on the contract, the city could end up shopping for a new cable provider when it is time to renew the franchise agreement in 1997.

“They have been here for approximately a dozen years and they’ve done good business,” said Arthur Joe Lopez, an Oxnard planning commissioner and chairman of the Telecommunications Task Force. “I think it’s only fair that they give something back in return.”

A report on the task force review is due in mid-April. Members of the task force include Lopez, Mayor Manuel Lopez, City Clerk Daniel Martinez and City Atty. Gary Gillig.

Jeff Jones, general manager of the Oxnard-based cable company, defended the company’s track record Thursday.

He noted that an upgrade of the City Hall cable system is in the works and that the company has helped produce such popular programs as “Street Beat,” a weekly crime prevention cable show.

“My opinion is that we are doing an excellent job,” said Jones, who joined the company seven months ago. “Anyone who understands business would realize that Jones Intercable provides an excellent service and does a good job of living up to a very old agreement.”

But task force members say an eight-month review of the company’s track record often proves otherwise:

* Despite language in the contract, task force members say Jones Intercable has failed to provide a full-time employee to coordinate community and educational programs with schools and city government. Jeff Jones said he has the equivalent of one full-time employee doing that work.

* The company is supposed to provide free video training workshops, according to the agreement. But Martinez said he was charged $15 when he attended a workshop a few months ago. Jones said the matter is under review.

* An annual advertising and promotional campaign, mandated by the franchise agreement, has failed to materialize.

“I don’t think that has been done very well,” Jones acknowledged. “I don’t know that we’ve done a real good job of getting the word out.”

* The cable company has made no significant upgrade since first installing cameras and other equipment in the City Council chambers in 1982. As a result, task force members say cable viewers are subjected to shoddy telecasts.

“We have essentially embarrassed ourselves by putting this image out,” Arthur Lopez said. “It doesn’t reflect well on our city, and it does a disservice to our residents.”

Task force members said a review of other cities showed that Oxnard could be getting more out of its cable company.

In Thousand Oaks, for example, city officials collect a 4.5% franchise fee each year from Ventura County Cablevision and a 3% franchise fee from Falcon Cable.

More importantly, task force members say Thousand Oaks has been able to establish a government access channel that shows government meetings and community events 24 hours a day.

In Oxnard, the city charges a 5% franchise fee, which amounted to $635,000 in fiscal year 1992-93.

But while Jones Intercable is committed to 600 hours of community programming a year, much of that air time is taken up with government meetings. Task force members say they would like to see Jones branch out to telecast cultural events and other city happenings.

“I think there has been a feeling that they have not really done what we expected them to do,” Mayor Lopez said. “I think the consensus of the committee is that they should be doing more.”

Jones said he is working with the task force to try to iron out problem areas. And he notes that at a time of new federal regulations, cable companies nationwide are being asked to do more with less money.

“I know it seems like it’s in stone,” Jones said of the franchise agreement. “But maybe it’s a living and breathing document that is nearly 15 years old, and we need to work on some of these things.”

As the franchise agreement nears its end, task force members say they merely want to ensure that Oxnard has a cable company that is responsive to the needs of the community.

“We want to make sure our cable company is doing its best,” Arthur Lopez said. “The issue here is providing the best service to the customer, regardless of who is providing the service.”