City Administrator, Jim Pale-dick, tries to blackout Car 25

From The Journal Times.com:

• Christina Lieffring

CAR25 could go back on air, funds would come from contingency fund and other budgets

RACINE — Restoration of Racine’s public-access channel is set to go to the City Council for a vote on Tuesday, though the cost is higher than the initial $30,000 estimate.

Last week, the Finance and Personnel Committee voted to send to the City Council, with a recommendation of approval, an amended proposal for purchasing equipment and budgeting the manpower needed to get BelleTV, also known as CAR25, back on the air.

Cost estimate

When BelleTV/CAR25 first went dark in early December, the estimated cost for replacement equipment alone was $30,000, which is the amount Alderman Sandy Weidner of the 6th District had included in her request to get the channel up and running again.

That request went before the Committee of the Whole, a subcommittee of the full City Council, which after a long discussion decided to send it to Finance and Personnel. The decision granted city staff more time to find answers to questions raised by the aldermen and put together a proposal that addressed concerns about the channel’s longevity.

The budgeted amount presented at last Monday’s meeting was $145,666.29. City Administrator Jim Palenick said the first estimate was “off the cuff,” whereas the new estimate was based on further research about what would be the best investment.

A few members of the public, as well as Weidner, expressed concern that the increased price tag for the equipment, which includes 4K technology, was going to deter aldermen from passing the resolution.

“We don’t need that; we just need a channel that operates,” said Weidner.

MIS Director Paul Ancona said that the intention was to recommend the best equipment so it could have a prolonged lifespan.

“What we’re looking at in terms of the equipment is going to state-of-the-art equipment so that we’re not facing this again in a few years,” Ancona said.

The proposal included budgeted items that could be reallocated for CAR25:

• $56,500 from the contingency fund. Assistant Finance Director Kathleen Fischer told the committee that around $100,000 would remain in the fund.
• $30,000 budgeted for the MIS department to replace switches. Ancona stated said his department would still be able to replace the oldest switches, they would just put off replacing some of them until 2021.
• $37,000 budgeted for additional body camera data storage.
• $22,500 for wireless access points for community centers.

Palenick emphasized that they chose line items that are “the lowest priority of the things that made it into the budget,” and could be delayed until 2021.

Need for access

Generally, members of the committee were receptive to reviving CAR25, and not just because several members of the public and aldermen attended the meeting to advocate for it.

“I’m obviously in support of trying to bring the service back, and I promise it’s not just because my grandma called me and threatened me,” said Alderman Jason Meekma of the 14th District. “It’s a powerful influencer nonetheless.”

Meekma asked Ancona if the staff budgeted to operate the channel would also be charged with enhancing the its programming, to which Ancona said yes. One point that has been raised in the discussion has been the decrease in programming for the channel, which used to air the Fourth Fest parade, the Holiday Parade through Downtown and the Racine Rotary Post Prom.

The committee decided to remove one line item — an upgrade of Sony cameras in the council chambers to 4K video, valued at $29,975— after learning that the new cameras were not a necessity for the new system and that the city had installed new cameras two years ago. Ancona stated that that particular expense could be undertaken further down the road.

The estimated cost going before the City Council would be $115,691.29. As of press time it was unknown how that change would affect the proposed reallocation of funds from the budget.

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave., Room 205.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/car-could-go-back-on-air-funds-would-come-from/article_5c926992-caae-5820-89e6-e77886ccffd8.html

Pale-dick lies for Butterball.  Lying pigs run the city.  Where's the $800,000 the city receives annually to run Belle TV?  Did Butterball waste it hiring more swine assistants?  I wonder who wipes his ass for him.  Probably Pale-dick . . .

See: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2020/01/common-council-meeting.html and http://www.jtirregulars.com/2020/01/will-city-council-vote-for-transparent.html