Middle Smithfield Township to eliminate cable franchise fee

Middle Smithfield Township will officially forego the cable franchise fee.

At the Thursday, April 11, Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors meeting, the topic of removing the fee, which raises funds for the township, came up during the solicitor’s report. Township Solicitor Patrick Armstrong said that the township’s current cable franchise agreement with Blue Ridge Cable will be due for renewal in June.

Armstrong mentioned past talk by the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors of removing the cable franchise fee. He advised the supervisors to pass a motion to have him request the removal of the fee during negotiations, if they still wanted to do so.

This move comes considering the implementation of the $52 Local Services Tax (LST) this year. The purpose of that tax is “to provide much needed assistance for our all-volunteer fire companies, as well as the ambulance companies,” emailed Board of Supervisors Chairperson Annette Atkinson before the November 2023 public hearing on the LST.

“The cable franchise fee was enacted in 2008 and has been going down since then, and if you look at who has cable now, it skews elderly,” Atkinson said during the hearing. “That was created as a vehicle to generate income to pass through to fire and ambulance, but now, why should only people who watch cable support fire and ambulance?”

More: Middle Smithfield Twp. supervisors adopt Local Services Tax after public hearing

The $10 Occupational Privilege Tax was repealed this year after the Local Services Tax went into effect.

The vote to remove the cable franchise fee was unanimous.

Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Cable franchise fee to be removed for Middle Smithfield Twp. residents