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HomeMy WebLinkAboutN-910 - Pasco City TelevisionCITY OF PASCO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS Administrative Order No. 910 Communications Subject: Pasco City Television (PSC -TV) Initial Effective Date: February 17, 2016 Revised AMroved I. PURPOSE: The purpose of these Operational Policies and Procedures is to define the function of the City of Pasco governmental cable access channel(s), currently known as Pasco City Television (PSC -TV), provide direction to City staff, and assist the public in understanding the services offered by PSC -TV. II. REFERENCES: Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 42.56 (Public Records Act) HI. ATTACHMENTS: PSC -TV Message Display Request IV. MISSION AND GOALS FOR PSC -TV: PSC -TV is designated as a government access channel, as provided for in the 1984 Cable Act and the cable television franchise agreement between the City of Pasco and Charter Communications. PSC -TV is a function of the Communications Division of the Executive Department. The mission of PSC -TV is to: A. Enhance the City's public information and communications system. B. Inform the community in local government decision-making. C. Provide useful information to general and specialized audiences. V. CHANNEL PROGRAMMING: A. Programming Responsibility 1. The City of Pasco reserves the right to program PSC -TV in accordance with the mission identified above. 2. The City of Pasco shall follow all FCC guidelines for cable access television. 3. As appropriate, any appeals of programming decisions shall be made to the City Manager's Office. B. Programming Categories 1. All programming on PSC -TV shall fall within at least one of the following categories: a. Governmental Decision Making: Programming which provides direct coverage of the deliberations of elected or appointed bodies, as well as coverage of selected public issues forums. Examples of programming in this category include: i. City Council Meetings ii. Board and Commission Meetings iii. Public Issue Forums b. Community Information/Affairs: Programming that provides information about City government or issues of local interest in Pasco. Examples include: i. Crime Prevention ii. Environmental Issues iii. Public Safety iv. Neighborhood Information c. Cooperative/Community Programming_ Programming produced or provided in cooperation with other organizations that contain useful information or that highlights the achievements and accomplishments of Pasco citizens. Examples include: i. School District Programming ii. Area Municipalities' Programming iii. Area Public Agency Programming iv. Area Economic Development Agency Programming v. Unique Ceremonies C. Programming Guidelines 1. All programming on PSC -TV: a. Must be either produced or approved for use by Communications b. Must support the channel's mission and goals c. Must fall within one of the channel's designated categories d. Must be of local interest and provide community benefit 2. Communications shall establish allocation of programming time among the designated categories. 3. City Council meetings, study sessions and any other public meeting will be covered, to the extent possible, gavel -to -gavel, without editing or interruption. Introductory or supplementary information, which will aid the viewer in understanding the context or issues, may be provided. 4. Video coverage of meetings shall not be considered the official record of said meetings (unless specified by Ordinance), and there shall be no liability by the City or its employees for inadvertent erasure or omissions, technical difficulties, or for inaccurate information stated during an aired event. Video recorded meetings shall be considered secondary copies. 5. The City of Pasco shall archive video copies of all public meetings for a minimum of 6 (six) years after end of calendar year from the date of production, per the Washington State Local Government Common Records Retention Administrative Order No. 910 —PSC -TV Page 2 Schedule. Meetings may be transferred to DVD/Blu-Ray format for storage purposes. 6. Any City department may co-sponsor a governmental programming proposal from the community with the approval of Communications, in consultation with the established chain of command when necessary. 7. The City may cooperate with other public agencies to acquire additional programming, which meets the objectives and goals of PSC -TV. 8. Public issue forums or debates carried on PSC -TV must relate to the channel's mission and offer a balanced perspective on the issues. 9. Use of PSC -TV by individuals seeking public office or reelection is prohibited unless participating in third -party debates (e.g. League of Women Voters Candidate Forums) or if acting in an official capacity as part of regular duties. 10. All programming produced for PSC -TV may only be reproduced for non- commercial use, subject to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 42.56 (Public Records Act). D. Prohibited Programming The following types of programming shall be prohibited on PSC -TV: 1. Programming which does not comply with the mission of PSC -TV or these guidelines. 2. Programming which violates FCC guidelines for access television including: a. Commercial/for-profit enterprises b. Trade or business announcements c. Obscene, indecent, libelous or slanderous speech d. Lottery information or other illegal content 3. Programming which promotes political candidates, issues or viewpoints except as provided for in third party (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters) debates, forums, or the City Council acting in its official capacity. 4. The City reserves the right to refuse to transmit all or any portion of a program which promotes any activity which is illegal under City, State or Federal law or in violation of these procedures and guidelines. VI. COMMUNITY CALENDAR: The Community Calendar is designed to provide a source of timely information about a variety of community activities displayed by the PSC -TV character generator system. A. The Community Calendar will normally be displayed throughout the cablecast area (see Section V), twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, except at those times when other programming has been scheduled by Communications, or the channel is experiencing technical difficulties. B. The form, The PSC -TV Message Display Request (or its online equivalent) must be used when submitting messages for display. The form can be obtained from Communications at City Hall, or via the City's website. Communications will make every effort to include all appropriate messages on the Community Calendar, but inclusion is not guaranteed. Administrative Order No. 910 — PSC -TV Page 3 C. A list of the Community Calendar guidelines is included on The PSC -TV Message Display Request form. D. Should incorrect information be displayed, neither the City of Pasco nor the employee(s) responsible shall be liable for the inaccuracy of the information or for actions taken by anyone as a result of the inaccurate information. E. The City reserves the right to refuse to transmit all or any portion of a message which promotes any activity which is illegal under City, State or Federal law or in violation of these procedures and guidelines. VII. PSC -TV CABLECAST AREA: As determined by Charter Communications, as defined in the franchise agreement, Charter cable television customers in and around the City in Franklin County currently receive PSC -TV via channel 191 on the Charter channel lineup. VIII. EMERGENCY RESPONSE: PSC -TV may be used at any time for the purpose of emergency communication and response. In these cases, direction will be taken from the procedures outlined in the City of Pasco Emergency Plan(s). IX. PROGRAMMING AUTHORITY: The City of Pasco reserves the right to refuse a request for cable programming or operations which is illegal under City, State or Federal law or is in violation of the mission and goals for PSC -TV. Furthermore, as PSC -TV is a "Government Speech" medium, PSC -TV cannot accept public submissions of content that is outside of the above listed categories. Approved: 4L� -�-'II-7)►� ave Zabell, ,it ager Date Administrative Order No. 910 — PSC -TV Page 4 Attachment No. 1 PASCO CITY TELEVISION COMMUNITY CALENDAR MESSAGE DISPLAY REQUEST The PSC -TV Community Calendar is offered as a free public service to promote communication among public, educational and governmental sources. The PSC -TV Community Calendar is cablecast to homes in Pasco via Charter Cable on PSC -TV Channel 191. Text is displayed throughout the day, 7 days a week, during all non -program (taped or live) playback hours. The following rules apply for use of the PSC -TV Community Calendar: 1. Messages can be submitted on this form or online at www.pasco-wa.gov. General press releases will not be considered. Forms are available at City Hall, or on the City's website, www.pasco-wa.gov/psctv. 2. Forms must be signed and returned to the City's Communication Specialist at least 7 working days prior to the first requested display date. Forms may be brought in or mailed to: PSC-TV/City of Pasco, 525 N. 3rd Avenue, Pasco, WA 99301, FAX: (509) 545-3403 3. No information shall be transmitted which involves any advertising to promote the sale of commercial products or services, advertising on behalf of candidates for public office or political issues, lottery information, fund raising or obscene/indecent matter. Further, the requesting agency/organization must be non-profit. 4. If a non-profit agency's primary service is referral of business to member profit agencies, they shall be excluded from use of the PSC -TV Community Calendar. 5. Events messages must include whether they are free or if there is an admission charge. An information telephone number should be included. 6. Staffing and/or timing circumstances may preclude your message from being posted to the Community Calendar, therefore, no guarantees of any kind are given regarding message submissions. 7. In order to maximize use of the PSC -TV Community Calendar for messages of broad public interest, regular community group and church service schedules will not be announced. 8. City staff will place your message on the Community Calendar as soon as possible, however, please allow up to 5 business days for placement. 9. The user agrees to hold harmless the City of Pasco, its officials and employees for any and all liability, damages or losses incurred because of actions, errors or omissions related to the use of the PSC -1V Community Calendar. City staff reserves the right to alter or reject messages. Comments or questions may be directed to the Office of Communications at (509) 5453485. Administrative Order No. 910 —Pasco City Television (PSC -TV) Attachment No. 1 Attachment No. 1 PASCO CITY TELEVISION COMMUNITY CALENDAR MESSAGE DISPLAY REQUEST Fill in the blocks with your message as you would like it to appear on the N screen. Maximum space available is 8 lines down by 30 characters across. Leave one space between words. Punctuation marks require one space. Group or event names should be placed on the first line. City staff reserves the right to alter or reject messages. The PSC TV Community Calendar is offered as public service by the City of Pasco. The user agrees to hold harmless the City of Pasco, its officials and employees for any and all liability, damages or losses incurred because of actions, errors or omissions related to the use of the PSC -TV Community Calendar. Please Return to: PSC-TV/City of Pasco 525 N. 3rd Avenue Pasco, WA 99301 (509) 545-3485 FAX. (509) 545-3403 PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT Organization Address City Zip Contact Person Telephone Today's Date Dates Requested for Display: From / / To Signature communications oasco-wa.Eov Administrative Order No. 910—Pasco City Television (PSC -TV) Attachment No. 1