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Flower Hill OKs five‑year Verizon cable franchise with a 1% TV surcharge
Summary
Trustees approved a five‑year renewal of Verizon’s cable franchise; the agreement includes an additional 1% surcharge on television service to fund the local NorthShore TV operation, which trustees described as de minimis for most customers.
The Village of Flower Hill Board of Trustees on June 2 approved a five‑year renewal of Verizon’s cable television franchise, a shorter term than the previous 15‑year arrangement, and accepted a negotiated 1% surcharge on television service that Verizon said would help fund the municipality’s NorthShore TV service.
During public comment, a resident and several trustees discussed the surcharge’s likely dollar impact: trustees estimated that for a typical cable package the television portion may increase by roughly $1 per month (about $12 per year) for many customers; the mayor described the amount as “de minimis.” Trustees also discussed the mechanics of intermunicipal negotiation and warned that rejecting the proposed term could require individual renegotiations and risk losing Verizon service if the company withdrew from the consortium negotiation.
At roll‑call time the mayor moved to approve the agreement and to declare the action a SECRA type‑2; the motion carried after a recorded abstention by a trustee (the transcript records a trustee stating “I will abstain this vote”). The board did not record a full roll‑call tally in the public transcript.
