Lebanon City to consider 10‑year Comcast cable franchise with new consumer protections

Mayor Sherry El Capello told Lebanon City council members at an early‑April 2026 pre‑council meeting that the city is being asked to authorize a 10‑year cable franchise agreement with Comcast of South Incorporated that would formalize a 5% franchise fee and add consumer protections.

"With 25% of the budget year completed, revenues are almost 23%, expenses a little more than 18%," El Capello said while summarizing the city's fiscal position, and she explained that under federal law the local municipality is entitled to "5% of the gross receipts of the gross revenues for cable service." She said the city retained Cohen Law Group to audit prior payments and review the new agreement and that the audit showed the city "received all the money that we should have received."

El Capello said the draft franchise broadens the contract definition of "gross revenue" to capture new or foreseeable cable revenue sources so the city can continue to receive its 5% share as services evolve. The draft also adds a bundled‑services protection so discounts applied to combined packages (for example, cable, internet and phone) cannot be allocated in a way that avoids franchise fees on cable service. Franchise fees would appear as a separate line on subscriber bills and be remitted to the city quarterly, she said.

The mayor went through a number of consumer‑protection and technical provisions included in the draft: telephone answer‑time limits, routine surveys to measure compliance, required notice to subscribers, limits on when a provider can discontinue service, a prohibition on applying late fees while a billing dispute is under investigation, four‑hour appointment windows for service calls, credits on request for cable outages of six hours or more, and new obligations to repair rights‑of‑way damage within 20 business days.

The agreement also would require the system to meet or exceed relevant FCC technical performance standards and applicable electrical codes and to perform tests. It grants the city access to a public, educational and governmental (PEG) channel; the city would be responsible for programming and production costs if it chooses to use that channel, El Capello said. She cited a 2019 court decision that limits receiving in‑kind cable service when a municipality is already at the 5% maximum.

El Capello recommended the 10‑year term because Comcast prefers a shorter duration than prior 15‑year agreements and because technology is changing. The draft includes nonexclusive, level‑playing‑field language to allow multiple franchisees — the mayor cited Verizon as an example — while preventing preferential treatment between operators.

During council questions, a council member asked whether the city had engaged Verizon; the member was told negotiations are underway through Cohen Law Group. Council members asked whether negotiators could press for sharper terms given Cohen's frequent role in municipal negotiations.

The chair asked who would sponsor the resolution and Council member Karen volunteered to "take it." No vote was recorded at the pre‑council session; the resolution is scheduled for consideration at a future council meeting.