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A coalition of local boroughs, townships and the City of McKeesport may attempt to negotiate more lucrative cable TV franchise fees for taxpayers.

McKeesport, Liberty Borough and Forward Township have agreed to partner with Twin Rivers Council of Governments in negotiating a joint contract with Comcast, and more communities are expected to join, says John Palyo, COG executive director.

"It's still in its very infancy," he says. "We're talking about potentially joining together to negotiate one agreement instead of five, six, seven agreements.

"It'll save legal costs and definitely increase the amount of the gross (cable franchise) revenues for the communities," Palyo says.

. . .

The COG is working with O'Hara Township-based Cohen Law Group --- founded by former Pittsburgh City Councilman Dan Cohen --- to revise cable TV agreements that in some cases are out of date, according to Palyo.

Municipalities grant exclusive franchises to cable companies in exchange for a percentage of their gross revenues --- by federal law, up to five percent.

But those agreements haven't necessarily kept pace with the explosion of new cable services, Palyo says.

McKeesport's cable agreement with Comcast, for instance, counts 11 different types of cable TV services towards the franchise fee paid the city, he says. Newer agreements, however, take a percentage of gross revenues from more than 20 different services.

. . .

"Just in the last 10 years, technology has come a long way," Palyo says. "There can be revenues from pay-per-view, sales from home shopping services, on-demand services."

The Cohen group, which specializes in telecommunications law, has agreed to assess cable agreements for all of the COG's 13* member municipalities at no cost.

Cohen Law would collect a fee if it's asked to negotiate a joint agreement, Palyo says, and if five or more of the COG's municipalities agree to the partnership, the group will cut its fees 50 percent.

. . .

As part of a joint agreement, Twin Rivers COG might also be able to persuade Comcast to add new features and public-service channels, if its municipalities want to pursue those options, he says.

"Obviously, the big question is, 'Well, what can you do about getting our rates lowered?'" Palyo says. "This has nothing to do with that. But local governments do have some power when it comes to negotiating rights-of-way, services, and other things within their franchise authority."

. . .

According to published reports, Cohen Law has negotiated similar joint cable agreements on behalf of the North Hills and Turtle Creek Valley COGs in Allegheny County and for the Mercer County Regional COG.

However, not all of those attempts have been successful.

Last year, on behalf of the Steel Valley COG, Cohen Law tried to negotiate a joint agreement with Verizon for its fiber-optic cable and Internet service. According to a 2009 story by Michael DiVittorio in the Daily News, the joint approach was scuttled when Verizon pulled out of negotiations, and insisted the individual municipalities sign separate agreements,

. . .

But with the Mon Valley's communities facing stagnant or declining property tax revenues, the COG is trying to "be creative" on behalf of its communities, Palyo says.

"We need to find a way to maximize revenues," he says. "I think everyone should at least look at it and consider it."

* Correction appended: This story originally said "12 member municipalities."

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