Council to look at terminating JCTV contract

An operator at JCTV runs the board during production at the facility on the campus of Lincoln University. (News Tribune file photo)
An operator at JCTV runs the board during production at the facility on the campus of Lincoln University. (News Tribune file photo)

The Jefferson City Council will take action Monday on a resolution authorizing the termination of the city's agreement with Lincoln University to run JCTV.

In September, the council approved $110,000 in funding for JCTV - a $55,000 cut to its normal budget. That was meant to keep the station operating through June 2013 and enable Lincoln University to discuss whether it will fund the station at some level before the university's fiscal year starts July 1.

In October, City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus told members of the JCTV steering committee that the City Council would need to see a financial show of support for the station from the community and Lincoln University or the city would terminate its contract with JCTV in March.

Given the city's $1.68 million shortfall, 2nd Ward Councilman Shawn Schulte said he intended to pull a bill off the agenda Monday that would have authorized an amendment to the agreement with Lincoln to reflect the lowered amount of funding. In its place, he said, he would offer the resolution to authorize the city counselor to terminate the station's contract, which requires a 90-day notice.

Schulte said he wanted to offer the resolution to make sure the city was upfront with both Lincoln University and JCTV. While the funding for this fiscal year has already been spent, the city is anticipating a tough budget process for the next fiscal year and Schulte said he didn't want a cut during that process to come as a surprise.

"I don't want any perception from Lincoln that we're trying to do anything backhanded," Schulte said.

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