TV3 to Undergo Audit, Hearing
Mayor Accepts Solicitor’s Recommendations for TV Station
– Allison Goldsberry
Mayor Michael McGlynn announced this morning that he will accept the recommendations City Solicitor Mark Rumley makes in his report on TV3 and the station will undergo an audit and performance evaluation hearing.
The audit will start right away and will delve into the past four to five years of the station’s financial information. The audit is expected to take thirty to forty-five days and will be 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.
Following the audit, a performance evaluation hearing will be held to look at the station’s operations, namely, how it has handled its funds and how it has provided public access in the community. The Mayor selected retired Judge Marie Jackson, formely of Medford, to serve as the impartial evaluator for the hearing.Â
Jackson, a Harvard Law School grad, served as the presiding justice for the Trial Court of Woburn for eight years. She retired in June 2007 and currently lives in Woburn.
Mayor McGlynn said he picked Jackson for her reputation.
“She’s tough, she’s fair, and she’s impartial,” said McGlynn.
Judge Jackson said though she has read Mark Rumley’s report, she has no “pre-disposed notions” about TV3.
“I’m not hear to rubber-stamp the Rumley report. I’m here to hear from the citizens of Medford…I’m not here to judge the past,” said Jackson.
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 mayor tentatively set two dates for the hearing- Wednesday, April 16, and Saturday, May 3. The April hearing will take place during the evening and both will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
In other TV3 news, Medford resident Phyllis Bucco-Notaro will replace City Solicitor Mark Rumley as the mayor’s representative on the TV3 Board of Directors. Bucco-Notaro has been active in the community, particularly in South Medford, where she fought against a methadone clinic and is currently working with other residents to ease traffic and congestion in the area.
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