Mayor presents five-year Verizon cable franchise agreement; council hears terms but no revenue estimate

The mayor told council that the city negotiated a franchise agreement with Verizon Pennsylvania, LLC to permit Verizon to provide cable service in Lebanon City under a five-year term, and that the city's legal advisor was Cohen Law Group.

"The agreement authorizes Verizon to provide cable service and introduce cable competition in Lebanon City," Mayor Sherry Alcopello said, adding that most terms mirror the existing Comcast agreement but the Verizon term is five years (Verizon's maximum allowed term) rather than 15 years.

The mayor said the agreement allows the city to collect a 5% franchise fee on gross revenues (the statutory maximum). She described a comprehensive definition of gross revenue that enumerates 27 revenue sources and includes a catchall for future revenue types. The agreement requires quarterly line-item reporting and grants the city audit rights every three years with penalties for underpayment.

Council asked whether the city had a projection for revenue from Verizon; the mayor said she had "no idea" and expected the number might be similar to current receipts from Comcast, noting streaming services have reduced traditional cable revenue.

Council discussed how the agreement resolves prior concerns about bundled discounts being applied only to cable revenue. The mayor said the new language prevents discounts from being allocated solely to cable, preserving the franchise fee base.

The resolution authorizing execution of the franchise agreement will appear on the council agenda for formal action on Monday.