NEW SCOTLAND – The peace and quiet of rural living can often mean limited access to high-speed cable and Internet services.

Local residents hoping for cable and Internet services left last Wednesday night’s town board meeting disappointed.

Time Warner Cable, the company with which New Scotland has had a franchise agreement since 1980, requires 20 homes per mile to run a cable.

John Mucha, a Time Warner representative, attended the public hearing before the Dec. 13 meeting to discuss renewing the franchise agreement for another 15 years. The board will likely decide at its next meeting, on Jan. 10, whether or not to renew the franchise.

In areas that meet the company’s requirements, there is no cost to the consumers other than basic installation fees. Residents who live in areas with fewer than 20 homes per mile must pay the cable line installation costs, to gain access to the service.

The cost is determined by the number of homes that would potentially use the service. The cost decreases as the number of homes increases. Residents at last week’s meeting were given estimates nearing a few thousand dollars to install the underground cable.

Mucha said that, during the 12 years he has worked in the cable business, the requirement has been 20 homes per mile.

Sharon Boehlke estimates there are five or six homes per mile where she lives on New Scotland South Road. She told the board that she pays nearly $200 per month for her Dish Network cable. She said she is frustrated that she cannot get the same benefits as others in town.
"Fifteen years is a long time"I could be dead by then," Boehlke said, adding that, if the board were to pass the renewal agreement, she would not be eligible for cable for15 more years.

Councilwoman Peg Neri, who has negotiated with Time Warner on behalf of the town, wants to reduce the length of the agreement to 10 years, as it was in the past.

Franchise tax

Customers in the town of New Scotland who buy cable service from Time Warner are charged a franchise tax. The tax rate is set by the municipality, and can be as much as 5 percent.

New Scotland’s rate is 3 percent. L. Michel Mackey, the attorney for the town, explained to the board that the tax applies only to the cable portion of the customer’s bill. Customers who purchase various services from Time Warner get charged the franchise tax for cable costs only, he said.

The revenue goes to the town, but some of it is used to pay Time Warner’s town taxes.

People with cable essentially pay Time Warner’s property taxes, said Supervisor Ed Clark. Any additional revenue generated from the franchise tax beyond the cost of the town taxes, goes directly to the town.
"It exceeds it significantly," Clark said, citing the total franchise tax revenues at about $20,000 and just under $2,000 for Time Warner town taxes, leaving surplus of $18,000.
The money goes into the general fund, and "helps pay the bills," Clark said.

Councilwoman Deborah Baron proposed that the town raise the franchise tax, and use the revenue generated from the tax to help get cable access for the people in town who want it, but live in areas with too few houses.

Clark said that he doesn’t see any reason to do that.

We can’t use the tax revenues of some individuals in town to help others, he told The Enterprise.
"In the end, it becomes an economic question, and the cable company is reluctant to absorb the cost," Clark said.

He told the concerned residents that he would be happy to look into services offered by Verizon.

Other business

In other business, the town board at its December meeting:

– Announced that the annual re-organizational meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 6:30 p.m.;

– Approved payment to Todd Crouse in the amount of $55 per month for his website services. Crouse also gave a brief presentation on his plans for updating the town’s website and making it more user-friendly;

– Re-appointed Supervisor Clark as marriage officer for four years;

– Adopted local laws #9, #10, and #11. Local Law #9 provides administration and enforcement of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.

Local Law #10 grants a partial tax exemption on property owned by people with disabilities with limited incomes.

Local Law #11 grants a partial tax exemption on property owned by senior citizens with limited incomes;

– Approved the 2007 agreement with the city of Albany for use of the Rapp Road Landfill facility at a charge of $52 per ton of municipal solid waste;

– Approved a one-year managed-service agreement with Technical Business Solutions;

– Renewed contracts with four local fire and ambulance services: New Salem Fire Department, Voorheesville Ambulance Service, Onesquethaw Fire, and Onesquethaw Ambulance;

– Announced that the New Scotland Historical Association’s spring show will be titled: From the Homefront to the Front Lines – New Scotland in WWI and WWII; and

– Announced that the seniors will be having their December banquet at Crossgates Restaurant on Dec. 27. The cost will be $10 per person.