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Be polite.
Ask to speak with your Councilperson directly if possible.
Pick and choose from the following ...
Public Access will benefit you, your organizations, and your neighborhood. Churches, neighborhood groups, gardening clubs, etc -- any non-profit group can get shows on Public Access.
Over 2,000 cities in the United States have Public Access, and Philadelphia is the largest city not to have it! Doesn't Philadelphia deserve to be a first-rate city?
Public Access can be implemented by City Council President Anna Verna and Mayor Street signing the articles of incorporation of the Philadelphia Public Access Corporation. City Council should urge President Verna to sign.
According to the cable franchise contracts, the Public Access budget as it currently stands is $500,000, to be taken from the cable TV franchise fees paid to the City. The cable companies are supposed to pay a couple million dollars in capital costs to set the system up.
According to the cable franchise contracts, there are supposed to be up to nine Public Access media community centers.
When the Articles of Incorporation are signed, the Mayor and City Council get to appoint the initial members of the Board of Directors of the Public Access Corporation. Council should just get the ball rolling and let the initial board take care of the details.
In 2000, three of Mayor Street's own transition team committees (Arts and Culture, Public Safety, and Social Services) said in their final reports that Philadelphia should implement Public Access cable TV. Why hasn't it?
Why hasn't Public Access Cable TV been implemented, when for 15 years, the City's contracts with the cable companies have specified that Public Access will be implemented?
Why hasn't Public Access been implemented, when for 15 years, Philadelphia has a law, Ordinance 1963, that says Public Access "shall be" implemented "immediately".
Why does the City have almost the highest cable TV rates in the country, but the cable franchise fee hasn't been used to pay for Public Access, as the contracts with the cable companies specify?
Since the contracts with the cable companies specify that $500,000 of the franchise fees the cable companies pay to the City should go to pay for Public Access, haven't Philadelphia Cable subscribers been paying an unofficial, illegal tax for 15 years?
Public Access will contribute to the culture, civic engagement and healthy growth of Philadelphia.
Public Access will benefit me, the organizations I belong to, and the city as a whole by providing a means for valuable technology and job training opportunities, extending the reach of social services, informing people of local resources, and increasing understanding and dialog amongst the various communities in Philadelphia.