Saturday, August 16, 2003
 
City of Enid looking at PEGASYS budget cuts
8/16/2003
Jay F. Marks
Staff Writer

A bit of unexpected news Friday morning has put PEGASYS officials on the defensive.

Wendy Quarles, director of Enid's public access television system, said she thought the Enid City Commission already had approved PEGASYS' 2003-04 budget, but she learned differently Friday morning from City Manager Bill Gamble.

Gamble told her commissioners would consider implementing a series of cuts to reduce PEGASYS' share of franchise fees paid by Cox Communications.

'I just feel we're having the rug pulled out from under us,' Quarles said. 'It came as a shock to me.'

Mayor Irv Honigsberg insists the discussion isn't intended to harm PEGASYS, only to determine if the community's money is necessary to operate the television system.

'We're not going to hurt PEGASYS,' Honigsberg said. 'This is strictly a financial deal.'

Gamble said commissioners have been looking for ways to lure new businesses and new jobs to Enid, but none of them bear any ill will toward PEGASYS.

'The commission has asked, 'What can we do to find additional resources for economic development?'' Gamble said. 'This is just one of the sources that is out there.'

Gamble said the city's franchise fees generated more than $350,000 last year for PEGASYS, which also has a fund balance of about $430,000.

The commissioners want to figure out how much money really is needed to operate PEGASYS, which broadcasts to Enid residents on three channels.

Commissioner John Hodgden said he supports PEGASYS - which airs meetings of the city commission and Enid Board of Education - but he wonders why it takes so much money to operate it.

He said other city entities have endured belt-tightening in the past few years as Enid dealt with its money woes, but Enid's PEGASYS seems to have been immune.

Commissioner Jerry Erwin, a member of the PEGASYS board, said he doesn't know much about the proposal to cut the television system's income stream.

'Nothing really has been discussed at length,' he said. 'That matter has just been put on the table for consideration.'

Honigsberg said the issue has been blown out of proportion since it came to light last month.

He said city officials are only talking about siphoning off some 'surplus money' from the PEGASYS budget to bolster economic development efforts.

Honigsberg said the discussion is part of the commission's efforts to find the best way to use the taxpayers' money.

Gamble has suggested cutting PEGASYS' share of the franchise fees in half, to 50 percent, to create additional revenue for economic development.

Jon Blankenship, head of the Enid Economic Development Authority, said additional money is needed to put the city in a stronger position for business expansion and job growth by improving its incentive program.

'Incentives are the name of the game these days,' he said. 'Right now, we're not funding local incentives adequately.'

Still, Blankenship stopped short of endorsing any plan to secure additional economic development funds. He said he is just glad the city commission is exploring its options in that regard.

'I think that has to be a top priority,' Blankenship said.

Quarles said she understands the need to fund economic development, but she is concerned the current proposal would make it impossible for PEGASYS to continue operating.

Quarles said the plan to cut PEGASYS' share of the franchise fees over the next five years took into account the possibility that those fees could increase because of Cox's Internet services, but that will not happen. She said the Federal Communications Commission blocked that notion last March.

She said it was the understanding of PEGASYS officials that any cuts would not come for another year, giving them time to find alternate funding sources.

Quarles said she plans to present her arguments against cutting PEGASYS' funding at Tuesday night's study session. She also urged residents to attend that meeting to express their opinions on the issue.

The study session is slated for 5 p.m. Tuesday in the city manager's conference room at the Martin Luther King Jr. Municipal Complex.
 
Comments
 
Dr. Fear writes:
 
"Why dont these, clearly incapable, city officials take the money back they gave as bonuses to their fellow high level city employees and return the city to what it was before Darth Gamble maimed it all? The jobless of the city, in result, just see more wealth being obtained for these obviously greedy city bigwigs who fail to operate the very city they represent and wonder why they were laid off? How many more lives and businesses will Gamble and Co. ruin before their all expense paid trips to rich overseas locations are completed funded?

The money that goes to Pegasys is not their's to touch, bound by contractual obligations and the set budget in June, so by doing this they are breaking the very rules that they set out and becoming the biggest criminals in Enid. How often does one get to take $30,000 away from a private organization and get away with it?

This is gambling to be sure."
 
Tim writes:
 
"Chop, chop, goes Bill. Once again Gamble is showing us just who IS running Enid and it isn't Honisburg (pardon the spelling). Is there any service Gamble won't cut? Not yet there isn't. He has cut the city workforce to the point where roads, sewers, right of ways ect. have become near third world. If there is a BRAC out there we can be sure they WILL close our base once they have driven over our pitiful roads. Now they will read how Gamble is cutting funding of our local T.V. channel. We must as citizens vote, fire, recall whatever it takes to rid Enid of this man before he destroys what is left of Enid. We need to march on city hall en mass and show these 'elected' officials we won't stand for ANYMORE cuts."
 
Bullseye writes:
 
"Okay, the fight can end right here... The city can't shut peg. down, were not gonna let it happen! Dear Peg., start a fund raiser, have people sign up for a monthly commitmant of $10. Anyone who knows what the city is up to and who cares about Enid will pay the $10 a month. It's not very much! I myself am ready, and I don't even live in Enid! Just tell me where to send my monthy payment! The City Councel will not shut up your voice! Just bring out the form, and let's roll."
 
ROBERT PAUL writes:
 
"IS THERE ANOTHER TELEMARKETING FIRM TO BE LURED TO ENID PAYING LOW WAGES OR DOES THE CITY NEED MORE SPORTS CARS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WHAT OTHER BUDGETS HAS A FIFTY PERCENT REDUCTION BEEN CONSIDERED?"
 
knows the truth writes:
 
"Today's story made it sound as though PEGASYS 'thought' the budget had been approved, but that it hadn't. The truth is, our City Commission DID approve the budget for fiscal year 2003-2004 in June. What wasn't approved was the contract for services between PEGASYS and the City of Enid. That contract, which was prepared by City Attorney Carol Lahman, was sent to the PEGASYS Board of Directors in May for approval. As required by their by-laws, they studied it for a month, then voted to approve it at their June meeting, after which it was sent back to the City Commission for approval. This is a standard annual contract which has been approved EVERY year since PEGASYS was established in 1985, outlining what PEGASYS does for the city, and what the City does for PEGASYS. The difference this year is that while the PEGASYS Board approved it in good faith (including Ward 1 Commissioner Jerry Erwin who serves as the City's representative on the PEGASYS Board), Bill Gamble did not act in good faith. In fact, the contract was on the agenda for approvl at the first City Commission meeting in July, but he removed it from the agenda without notifying PEGASYS (did the Commission know and approve this behavior or were they left in the dark as well?). Three weeks later, after yet another City Commission meeting on July 15th where it was again omitted from the agenda, Wild Bill told the Commission and PEGASYS Director Wendy Quarles at a study session that his proposal to cut the PEGASYS budget would not begin until next fiscal year, and that PEGASYS should use this time to develop partnerships with the business community (who, by the way, cannot advertise on PEGASYS because it is non-profit). Now, less than a month later, he is recommending that the reduction start THIS YEAR!!! Who is running this show? Our City Mayor and Commissioners should demand a public apology and put him on notice that such behavior will not be tolerated. They should also insist that the budget which they approved two months ago for this fiscal year be honored and that the contract which was prepared by their attorney be approved as is. Otherwise, let Bill begin drawing that two thousand dollars per month that he arranged for himself for TWO YEARS after he leaves the city."
 
Tammy Kennedy writes:
 
"I'd like to know just who Gamble is working for anyway. Seems to me there is a lot of greasing of the wrong wheels. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye here such as dirty politics from our so-called trusted institutions such as doctors and hospitals. They don't like being found out and Pegasys is the vehicle that will shed light on the errors of those systems.

Just an inside look at what I've seen recently."
 
Victor Torson writes:
 
"Gamble has to go! He has already implemented his plan to remove his secret agenda from the public eye with his so-called executive committee. Now he wants the access we had by TV to the council meetings removed and to spend the money on welfare for the rich. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, indeed!!!!!!"
 
Beck writes:
 
"The money from the cable franchise fees was originally intended for the sole purpose of setting up and maintaining a community access television station and THAT WAS IT!! To think that the city has ANY right to skim from this fund is incredulous. The money comes from the cable subscribers because they want to see cable tv and PEGASYS is part of that. The cable subscribers are not interested in having their fees go toward supporting the incompetencies of the city government. City management should start its own fund raising campaign and see how much support they get. Someone needs to read the original 'franchise agreement' signed by the cable company and the city of Enid, so you will know why the City cannot take that money away from PEGASYS. PLEASE attend the meeting next Tuesday and have your voices be heard. DO NOT let the city managers bully the people of Enid. Fight for PEGASYS!"
 

 © 2003 The Enid News & Eagle.

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