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Station Sues To Restore Funding

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By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2007

TAMPA - A public access network sued Hillsborough County commissioners Monday, hoping a federal judge will force the government to restore $355,000 in budget cuts to the station.

The lawsuit filed by the Tampa Bay Community Network alleges the county is trying to stymie the free speech rights of residents in unincorporated Hillsborough. It asked a federal judge to grant a restraining order to allow the network to continue broadcasting and receive public money for at least 10 days.

Hillsborough County fired back a response Monday afternoon, saying a favorable court ruling for public access could result in a spate of lawsuits from agencies that had their budgets cut.

Hillsborough County's $4 billion budget, which included about $56 million in cuts because of property tax rollbacks, went into effect Monday.

Trims Unconstitutional, Suit Says

The network, also known as Speak Up Tampa Bay, alleges county officials cut the network's budget to silence voices critical of Hillsborough government.

'They have impermissibly and unconstitutionally eliminated access only for those whose message they cannot control and with whom they disagree,' the lawsuit states.

Without the money, the network will have to prohibit unincorporated county residents from taping shows and will stop broadcasting to those viewers. The most recent estimate was there are 200,000 cable subscribers in unincorporated areas, and 46 percent of the network's programming is created by those residents.

The lawsuit also is filed on behalf of Lawrence 'Gene' Adler, who produced 'Racing Roundup' on the network. Adler is among residents who now can't produce shows broadcast on public access channels.

TBCN still receives money from Tampa.

Hillsborough's response states the county's decision to cut public access television's stipend came after lengthy deliberations, and noted commissioners split during a vote on whether to include funding for the network in the budget.
County commissioners approved the 2008 budget Sept. 20. They voted to spend $250,000 on The Education Channel, a station that produces educational, science, documentary and other programming. County officials had recommended cutting spending on both channels.

To further make their point, county attorneys included a signed affidavit from Budget Director Eric Johnson. 'If the Court requires the County to fund public access television, other programs and/or jobs will have to be cut,' Johnson said.

Attorney Points To HTV22 Funding

The county's response also states that the network is incorrect to assume that 'money is available' to restore its allocation.

David Snyder, an attorney for the network, disagreed with that assertion, saying the county found millions to pay for government-run station HTV22 and to give additional money to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

He said the county had asserted it was cutting spending on public access because it needed the cash to pay for essential programs, such as public safety.

Those programs are more about economic development, Snyder said, and 'have nothing to do with health, safety and welfare.'

Reporter Anthony McCartney can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or amccartney@tampatrib.com.

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