Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 12, 1991 TAG: 9102120380
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
At Monday's council meeting, the city manager and city attorney said the company's new payment coupons insinuate a new local tax is being imposed when Simmons actually is passing on the cost of its cable license fee.
It's not the first problem with Simmons that council has discussed. Earlier this year, council objected to increased cable rates that went into effect Feb. 1. City Council voted Jan. 14 to send letters to federal lawmakers protesting rate increases.
City Attorney John B. Spiers told council he believes the way the new bills are worded is improper because it looks like a local tax on each customer is being imposed.
"That's not true. It's a gross receipts tax," he said after the meeting. "What it is, is a hidden increase" that is being shown as a separate tax "to obscure the amount of their increase," Spiers added.
Ervin Stauss, general manager of Simmons Cable TV's Radford-Christiansburg operation, said after the meeting that the tax had been explained in letters to customers. The letter said the tax was to pass on the franchise fee imposed by local governments. And the coupon payment books also include an explanation, he said.
The explanation on the inside cover of the payment coupon book reads: "The tax line on each coupon shows any city, state or other applicable taxes. Franchise fees paid by Simmons Cable TV may also be included on that line."
City Manager Robert Asbury said the cable company's license was subject to council review and he didn't believe several stipulations in the contract had been complied with. Asbury said he believed Simmons' failure to file financial reports and other information put the city in the position to ask the company to show cause why its license should not be revoked.
Spiers cautioned that action was drastic.
Instead, he and Councilwoman Polly Corn said the issue was making sure the company was complying with its non-exclusive 15-year contract with the city that expires in 1999.
Stauss said he believed the company was complying with its contract.
He said he told Jess Cantline, city finance director, in December that the 1990 annual statement was being processed. The information takes about six weeks to compile, Stauss said.
In other business, council:
Authorized Asbury to apply for $365,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley. The center would use the money to relocate to larger facilities so more battered women and their children can be sheltered.
Pat Brown, the center's executive director, said 14 people can be accommodated per day now. The new facility would accommodate 21 people. She expects the new center would provide shelter to about 300 low-income individuals a year.
The project will cost about $440,000, with the center contributing $75,000 and the remainder coming from the block grant, if received. No matching funds are required from the city, Brown said.
Voted 4-0, with Councilman Garrett Weddle absent, to impose a 10 percent penalty for not filing a personal property tax report byMay 1 and a 5 percent penalty for not paying the tax on time. Interest would accumulate on late payments beginning one month after the deadline to pay.
This was the second and final reading of the ordinance. On first reading Jan. 28, Weddle voted against the ordinance.
Keywords:
GARY WEDDLE
by CNB