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Larimer County staff outline updated cable franchise agreements, predict modest revenue
Summary
Road and Bridge Director Todd Jurgens told commissioners the county is updating five cable franchise agreements to reflect federal law changes and declining cable subscribership, keeping a 5% gross‑revenue fee (about $275,000/year), raising PEG fee structure and increasing performance security to $50,000.
Road and Bridge Director Todd Jurgens told the Larimer County Board of Commissioners on June 8 that the county has updated five cable television franchise agreements to comply with federal changes and to reflect declining traditional cable subscriptions.
"These agreements have historically been with Comcast and TDS," Jurgens said. He said the county’s agreements are restricted to cable TV services in unincorporated Larimer County and do not cover broadband or telephone. The county’s franchise fee is set at 5% of gross revenue; Jurgens estimated that fee brings in about $275,000 a year to the Road and Bridge fund.
Jurgens said the county is also changing the way PEG (public, educational and governmental) fees are collected. "The last agreement in 2018, they were 50 cents per subscriber. They're now 1% of gross revenue," he said, adding the PEG fee revenue is restricted to covering the cost of providing government access broadcast services and equipment and is managed through the commissioners' office.
Among other changes, Jurgens said the county increased the contract performance security from $5,000 to $50,000 to ensure providers meet construction and restoration obligations. He also described stronger construction and relocation clauses that require minimum buried depths, timely relocation in advance of capital projects, and recovery of third‑party damages if a provider fails to relocate prior to county work.
Jurgens said the draft agreements include a clause permitting a provider to cancel its franchise if its unincorporated‑area subscriber base falls below 100, a concession staff included because traditional cable subscribership is declining as streaming grows. "I don't see that happening in the next seven years," he said.
Leslie Ellis, director of Community Planning, Infrastructure and Resources, introduced the item and said the five agreements will be packaged together for board consideration once they are signed. Jurgens said two of the five agreements are already signed and that others are moving through provider approvals.
The draft agreements will be placed on an upcoming administrative matters consent agenda for board action in the coming weeks.
