Cicero, NY - Cicero residents who subscribe to either Time Warner or Verizon soon will be paying a little more for cable. The town board Wednesday night voted 4-1 to enter into a 15-year contract that will increase the franchise fee on Time Warner customers' cable bills from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. By doing that, Verizon also must raise...
Cicero, NY - Cicero residents who subscribe to either Time Warner or Verizon soon will be paying a little more for cable.
The town board Wednesday night voted 4-1 to enter into a 15-year contract that will increase the franchise fee on Time Warner customers' cable bills from 3 percent to 3.5 percent. By doing that, Verizon also must raise its franchise fee to the same rate within the next 90 days. The cable companies give the franchise fee to the municipality where the customer lives.
Last year, the town of Cicero received about $240,000 in franchise fees from Time Warner Cable and roughly $20,000 in franchise fees from Verizon, said Cicero Comptroller Shirlie Stuart. By increasing the fee by .5 percent, the town expects to collect an additional $20,000 from Time Warner and slightly more than $3,000 from Verizon, Stuart said.
Cicero resident Ed Hansen questioned why the town would want to increase fees. "We're facing some budget shortfalls," Deputy Supervisor Jessica Zambrano said. "It becomes revenue for the town."
Hansen, of Eileen Avenue, said he opposed any increases and "would rather see the rates go down as people are having a hard time."
Councilor Jim Corl Jr. voted against renewing the franchise agreement with the higher rate. "No, I agree with Ed," Corl said, explaining his decision.
Councilor Lynn Jennings said Cicero residents can expect to pay roughly 50 cents more on their cable bills. "It's a revenue generating item for the town," Jennings said. "It's only about 50 cents more on a bill."
"It always starts out as 'only' and escalates down the road," Hansen said.