Council Orders Century Cable to Cut Rate

Just seven months after the City Council ordered Century Communications Corp. to slash its monthly basic cable rate by nearly 21%, the city has decided the company’s subscribers are still being overcharged.

In a unanimous vote, council members decided Monday night to order Century to cut its monthly rate by an additional 7%--from $25.07 to $23.27. The council also will force Century to credit subscribers $34.20--$1.80 for each of the 19 months the city says the company overcharged them.

“We were told by our expert consultants that the rates were still too high,” said Mayor Jim Friedman. After studying new information provided by Century, independent analysts determined the cable company made bookkeeping errors when calculating its charges, Friedman said.

“We need to be fair to the subscribers,” he added.

The latest rollback affects 15,800 subscribers in east Ventura. Avenue Cable TV serves 10,000 subscribers on the city’s west side.

Kyle Smith, the new general manager of Century Cable in Ventura, said he could not say whether the company will comply with the rate order or appeal it to the Federal Communications Commission.

“When they said $25.07, we said, ‘Fine, we will live by your decision,’ ” Smith said after the council meeting. “This time, our attorneys will look at the decision and we’ll go from there.”

During the meeting, Smith told the council that Century wanted to become the “Cadillac of all cable companies” in Ventura County.

“We’re paying for a Cadillac,” Councilman Jim Monahan replied. “Exactly what kind of Cadillac are we going to get?”

Despite the reduced rates, Century still has the highest monthly rates of all providers in Ventura County, according to city officials.

Monday’s decision was the latest in a series involving Century’s rates.

In July, the company told the city it intended to raise rates on premium channels by up to 453%. A federal law prevents the city from regulating rates charged for premium channels.

Century officials made that announcement after the city determined the company had overcharged subscribers for more than a year for basic cable and ordered a rollback in monthly rates from $31.50 to $25.07.

Company officials agreed last spring to the rollback, which included a monthly refund of $7.86 through June 1999--a credit representing overpriced basic rates retroactive for 13 1/2 months.

The city intends to appeal another plan by Century to increase the monthly price of channels like Discovery that are not premium but are in addition to basic service. Century wants to increase prices for such channels by 374%, from $4.09 to $15.29 per month. Federal law mandates an appeal can be made provided at least two subscribers complain.

After receiving more than 1,000 complaints, the council voted Monday to appeal that rate hike to the FCC.

“What the heck do these people think they are doing?” Friedman asked. “What other business can raise rates by that amount and get away with it?”

While the city negotiates a 15-year franchise renewal contract with Century Cable and Avenue TV Cable, officials are asking residents what they want to see in their cable communication services.

A series of workshops will be held Oct. 5 to 8, where subscribers will get a chance to air their concerns and offer opinions. Some suggestions will be incorporated into the city’s contract negotiations.