The International Falls City Council Monday agreed to implement a 5-percent franchise fee on cable television subscriber bills.

The fee will help to fund rejuvenation of the local public access channel.

The council took action after a presentation by members of the International Falls Cable Commission including Chrystal Clance, Joy Gillespie, and Ramona Johnson. Betsy Jensen is a member but could not attend Monday’s meeting. The commission is led by Falls City Councilor Cynthia Jaksa.

The commission is scheduled to ask the Ranier City Council and the Koochiching County Board to also enact the 5-percent franchise fee on the cable television portion of cable subscriber bills.

According to Jaksa, the fee is estimated to increase the average cable bill by less then $3 per month, or about $33 per year. She noted that the fee does not apply to telephone or Internet service.

Established last year to ensure good service from the city’s cable television franchise holder, the commission has also been working to develop the plan to revamp the public access channel to provide local programming on governments, education, and other community events, according to Jaksa.

Gillespie told the council Monday that there is no down side to the plan. Clance also touted the benefits to the community of adding local programming to the channel that now simply serves as a community bulletin board.

“This will give people a snapshot of the community,” she said of the local programing. In addition, it may encourage more involvement in local government as people will be more familiar with the players and their settings.

Councilor Shawn Mason said the plan fits well with the city’s goals to ensure citizens feel empowered and engaged. She urged the other governments to also enact the fee to help fund the plan.

The local public access channel is now housed at Rainy River Community College and the plan involves moving it to the Backus Community Center.

Implementing the plan will require the purchase of equipment and the hiring of staff to develop programming. To finance the plan, commission members said it is imperative that the three governments enact the franchise fee.

The fee would provide a stream of funding that will allow the commission “to bring a more vibrant and also vital public service to local area citizens,” according to Jaksa.

The budget from July to December of this year is set at $59,500. And the plan includes revenue and expense projections to 2015.

Staff are also expected to develop a Web site for video on demand, and provide live and taped coverage of local events.

“The model for our vision is the Itasca County public television,” said Jaksa. “It brings a myriad of programming into the homes of citizens, including government meetings, church services, sporting events, local celebrations and includes a local news program.”

Access to government is a primary value of public cable access TV, according to Beth C. Sundin George, executive director of Itasca Community Television. ICTV has existed since 1982, and its non profit formed in 1983, she said.

“With a public cable access channel, you’ve got access No. 1 to your government,” George said. “If you’re filming city council and the county board, whether your homebound or just can’t get there, you have access to what’s going on.”

“Newspapers may print synopsis or you may hear people say I heard this happened, but when watching a meeting end-to-end, unedited, people know what went on and don’t have to rely on second- and third-hand reports on how their world should be governed,” George continued.

She said local governments watch one another’s meetings to stay informed.

In addition, she said presenting community events, such as parades and other activities, helps people who are isolated and can’t attend feel they are a part of the community. For example, she said viewing the Grand Rapids Tall Timber Days parade on TV helps people in nursing homes and care centers who cannot attend the event connect to the community.

George said she’s happy to use the ICTV experience to assist other communities in making the most of their cable access channels. George said viewers can see the ICTV programming at the Web site at watchictv.org.

By putting the live feed into Backus, the public access channel can more easily do live broadcasts of community events that are held there, Jaksa said.

The revived station will offer volunteer and learning opportunities as well. It will accept videos from the public for replay provided they meet requirements of public interest and good taste.

“We feel that rejuvenating our public access channel will help rejuvenate our communities by improving communications between citizens and therefore increase understanding and thereby help citizens to better address and solve common problems and create opportunities to improve lives,” she said.

The commission meets at 5:15 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in city council chambers at the Falls Municipal Building. The agenda includes a standing item to receive comments and hear about issues from the public pertaining to cable delivery of media.