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Keizer council renews Comcast franchise, adopts Salem Electric franchise ordinance
Summary
The Keizer City Council voted to renew a five-year franchise with Comcast of Oregon and to adopt a 10-year franchise ordinance with Salem Electric, keeping current franchise fees unchanged and adding language on vegetation management and emergency repairs.
The Keizer City Council voted unanimously March 3 to approve a five-year renewal of its cable franchise with Comcast of Oregon and later adopted an ordinance establishing a franchise agreement with Salem Electric for placement of utilities in the public right-of-way.
City attorney Robert Lindsey told the council the Comcast renewal is a federally allowed extension under the Cable Act and that the city had no complaints to justify denial; staff recommended renewal. Lindsey said the renewal preserves the existing terms, including the municipal franchise fee, and will not raise residents’ franchise fees.
Council also approved an ordinance creating a new franchise with Salem Electric, a local cooperative. City staff and Salem Electric representatives said the ordinance updates definitions, emergency repair procedures and vegetation-management language. Tony Schecker of Salem Electric told the council the stronger vegetation-management provisions reflect lessons learned after recent wildfires and comply with Oregon PUC safety requirements.
Both measures were presented as consistent with past agreements and intended to protect the city’s right-of-way while maintaining service. The Comcast renewal passed by unanimous vote after a motion to adopt Resolution R-2025; the Salem Electric ordinance was adopted unanimously as an ordinance repealing the previous 2012 ordinance.
Officials said neither action changes the way customers are billed by the utilities; the city’s franchise fee structure remains the same. City staff also noted that franchises are nonexclusive and other providers may operate in the same service area.
Councilors asked staff to confirm the correct legal names of the Comcast subsidiary listed in the contract; staff said they had checked and would ensure the executed documents used the appropriate Comcast corporate name.
Why this matters: franchise agreements govern use of public rights-of-way, municipal oversight of utilities and collection of franchise fee revenue. The council’s action keeps the existing franchise payments and updates cooperative obligations for vegetation and emergency response.
What’s next: the Comcast renewal will be executed by the city manager; the Salem Electric ordinance takes effect per the ordinance schedule. Staff said they will continue to bring franchise items before council as they come up.
