Yes, your local access channels you have invested in for 25 years are at risk. The city is intending to take them away without your input for the sake of a one-year fix to its budget gap.
What is the timeline?
• November 17th: COBI will finalize their budget. This determines the future of BITV.
• December 12th: BITV will close and will not be broadcasting on channels 12 & 22.
What does this mean to me?
• This means all community programming (500 new programs/year) you have invested in will be eliminated.
• You will lose independent coverage of happenings at city hall.
• The island will lose its only journalism, and video classes and camps.
• You will lose two channels (12 & 22) to showcase your video projects & community events.
• You will lose your rights to free speech and public access television!
What is the city not telling me?
• While you may have heard otherwise, no taxes have been used to underwrite BITV expenses.
• The city has never attempted to involve BITV in their decision making process.
• COBI has limited knowledge of public access television.
• COBI is making uneducated and preemptive decisions based on this lack of knowledge.
• You will never know where your cable fees are going any longer. They will simply be put into the general fund, never to be seen again.
Well, what can I do? 3 STEP CALL TO ACTION:
1. Get the word out! Forward this alert to constituents, colleagues, students, friends, families, neighbors, friends-of-friends.
2. CALL, EMAIL, or WRITE your council member NOW! You can make the difference – Cut and Paste sample text or write your own message (See Sample below); Remain positive and respectful in your communications. Remember, we need the Council’s support!
3. Sign the “Save local access television” Petition at BITV. Plus, you can always volunteer with BITV to help their cause.
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SAMPLE Letter/Email:
Dear Council Member ________________,
I am writing to urge the continuation of the BITV contract. BITV ensures that independent citizen voices have a way to be heard. This is an inviolable principle to a living, breathing democracy and is a vital piece of the community on Bainbridge Island. It has come to my attention that the City Council is considering a disastrous and disproportionate cut to Public Access Television on Bainbridge Island.
As a concerned citizen, I understand that difficult choices need to be made to ensure that essential services and infrastructure remain in place. I also understand that there are no easy solutions to our budget crisis. However, I believe a disproportionate cut to BITV by retaining cable fees for non-programming uses only exacerbates the crises, cripples the island’s right to free speech, takes away the only place to receive and deliver independent film and video projects, and takes away a vital piece of Bainbridge’s cultural fabric. I call upon you to mitigate the BITV cuts through a lens of equity and proportionality. Please do not redirect funds away from BITV. These funds should be used for doing what BITV has done exceptionally well for the past 25 years. Please renew the contract the city has committed. Thank you for your leadership in continuing to invest in a better Bainbridge.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone Number
Council Contacts:
NORTH WARD
Hilary Franz, North Ward; hfranz@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel: (206) 734-9729
Bob Scales, North Ward; bscales@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel (206) 414-2003
CENTRAL WARD
Bill Knobloch, Central Ward; bknobloch@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel: (206) 855-8888
Debbi Lester, Central Ward; dlester@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel (206) 588-9588
SOUTH WARD
Kirsten Hytopoulos, South Ward; khytopoulos@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel (206) 842-1596
Kim Brackett, South Ward; kbrackett@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel: (206) 842-2134
AT LARGE
Barry Peters, At Large; bpeters@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us
Tel: (206) 842-7700
Not Sure who your council member is? Search your Ward at: http://kcwppub3.co.kitsap.wa.us/VoterInformation/