2nd Performance Evaluation Hearing to be Held for TV3

Hearing Scheduled for Saturday, November 15 at City Hall

– Allison Goldsberry

As promised in City Solicitor Mark Rumley’s report on TV3, a second performance evaluation hearing for TV3 will be held on Saturday, November 15, at 10AM at City Hall.

The hearing is an opportunity for members of the community to provide input about their experiences with the city’s public access station, which has been a point of controversey for the past several years. 

The performance evaluation hearing was planned to look at the station’s operations, namely, how it has handled its funds and how it has provided public access in the community. Retired Judge Marie Jackson, formerly of Medford, will again preside over the hearing.

Jackson referred to the section of the contract TV3 has with the city that authorizes the city to call for a performance evaluation of the station, and said the “guiding question” of the hearing will be if TV3 reflects the diversity of Medford and if it has provided an opportunity to participate in a fully inclusive manner.

The first hearing was held on Wednesday, October 29.  The hearing was nearly four hours long and dozens of people spoke, including elected officials such as State Representative Paul Donato and City Councilor Stephanie Muccini Burke.  The hearing is currently being replayed in its entirety on Channel 15 at 7AM and 7PM.

The vast majority of the speakers criticized TV3 for such things as a lack of quality local programming and a hostile atmosphere created by the board.  Speakers included several former board members, members, and a former station manager who were all critical of the station’s operations.

No TV3 board members attended or spoke at the first hearing, and instead sent their attorney, Dave Skerry, to speak on the board’s behalf.  Skerry was asked to leave the hearing by Jackson after speaking out of turn and heckling speakers, and was escorted out by police after refusing to leave on his own accord.

According to a televised response to the first hearing by TV3 currently playing on the station, the board plans to attend the second hearing to respond to the criticism it has received.

A financial audit of the station is also being conducted.  The audit started in April and looked into the past four to five years of the station’s financial information. The audit was expected to take only thirty to forty-five days and was conducted by Melanson and Heath, the same firm that audited the city’s Water and Sewer account after a $3.2 million deficit was discovered.

It was not immediately known why the audit is taking so long to complete. In Rumley’s report, he notes that a bookkeeper asked to compile the station’s financial data, Patricia Cappucci, criticized the station for its lack of organization and internal controls over its finances.

“[There was] no central filing location for any vendor or employee files. My assignment to collect the information to produce financial statements was quite a chore. The data that I was able to find, was scattered in many places. Most of the records are missing,” wrote Cappucci in an email to Rumley.

The hearing is open to all and the public is encouraged to participate to provide feedback about TV3, the city’s public access station. Prior to the hearing written comments may be submitted, in person or by mail, to the Law Department, Room 206 or the Office of the City Clerk, Room 103, Medford City Hall, 85 George P. Hassett Drive, Medford, MA 02155. Written comments may also be submitted by email to markrumley@medford.org.

More…

Read City Solicitor Mark Rumley’s full report on TV3

TV3 in Need of New Board, Direction