Disbanding agency smart, but keep it safe

The Marin Telecommunications Agency is a below-the-radar public agency that’s been managing cable TV franchise fees collected for corporations’ use of the public right-of-way easements.

The MTA, when it was first formed in 1998, had oversight responsibilities over cable TV systems, but that power was eroded by the state Legislature in 2006.

Cable customers used to be able to take their consumer complaints to the MTA, but Sacramento lawmakers effectively undermined local oversight.

Following a scathing 2018-19 Marin County Grand Jury report that questioned the cost and benefit of the agency, which had been headed by a well-paid executive director and a oneperson administrative staff and overseen by a commission of 10 city and county representatives, bureaucratic wheels started turning to roll the agency into another below-the-radar agency, the Marin General Services

Joint Powers Authority.

The latter agency plans to take over the role of serving as the pass-through for collecting and distributing about $4 million per year in franchise payments to the county and 10 member cities. It helps fund the Community Media Center of Marin, which has done a terrific job of increasing community video offerings on TV and online.

The transition comes after the 2018 retirement of MTA’s executive director and subsequent payroll reductions.

But Marin General Services has made it clear that it has little interest in policies beyond overseeing the money-management role, which didn’t require additional staffing. In fact, the transition to Marin General Services — a panel of Marin city managers and the county administrator — is projected to save about $100,000 per year.

The job would be added to Marin General Services’ other responsibilities, including being in charge of streetlight poles, taxi regulations and funding for removal of abandoned vehicles.

The transition will do little in responding to the grand jury report’s concerns that the MTA had not provided “strategic leadership” in advancing broadband internet access or 5G wireless infrastructure.

The latter issue has been debated across Marin’s local municipalities. The grand jury is right, there is no local “strategic leadership” regarding local implementation of 5G internet service.

In the face of city-by-city lobbying by advocates opposed to 5G, mainly citing health concerns from radiofrequency exposure, there are now a variety of local stop-gap regulations across our small county.

The local debate has left municipal decision makers in a policy limbo where federal law precludes possible health effects from being used to advance installation of cellphone transmitting stations. The grand jury report, “Marin’s Telecommunications Disconnect,” said “there is no coordinated strategy for investigation of the use, benefits, detriments or installation of this technology.”

Moving the pass-through to Marin General Services makes sense. It is largely a ministerial task.

In addition, the grand jury also blamed MTA’s lack of leadership on Marin’s slow progress in closing local gaps in broadband service.

Simply moving the financial responsibility to Marin General Services is not going to provide needed leadership in coming up with countywide approaches to 5G or closing local broadband divide.

Nor should these decisions be made by a staff-driven agency that operates with little public involvement as Marin General Services has. With this increased financial responsibility, Marin General Services should, at least, expand the public notice of its meetings and decisionmaking process to bolster public awareness and involvement.

MTA focused its attention on collecting and distributing cable franchise fees and funding of community television programming. If those jobs are transferred to Marin General Services, there still remains a void in providing a countywide strategy in developing 5G policies and working to improve broadband access across the county.