Lincoln agrees to new 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 soon will consider a new contract for JCTV, after months of the station operating without one in place.

At the Council Committee on Administration meeting Wednesday, interim City Administrator Drew Hilpert said Lincoln University President Kevin Rome has signed a revised contract for JCTV, which now needs council approval.

The station has been operating without a contract in place since early December, when the most recent contract expired. The city had sent a new contract to university officials early in the fall, but university officials held off on any decisions as they dealt with high-level staffing changes.

The new contract reflects a reduced amount of city funding, which has been steadily falling the past two years.

For the 2013 fiscal year, the station's budget was cut by $55,000, though it initially faced termination.

Mayor Eric Struemph proposed eliminating the station's remaining $110,000 in his original budget for the 2014 fiscal year, but the City Council ultimately approved a budget of $55,000 for the year.

Hilpert said other changes in the new contract include eliminating the JCTV Steering Committee, which has typically provided oversight of the station's management and funding. Hilpert said the committee was created before the position of station manager and is no longer needed.

"There's not much to it anymore," Hilpert said. "Its purpose is past, probably."

Metrics to measure the station's success and outreach, which were added at the council's request last year, also were removed from the new contract. Hilpert said because the city is reducing its financial stake in the station, it was felt that metrics were no longer appropriate.

Hilpert also noted the contract is pro-rated, meaning the city will not provide funding to the station for the two months it operated without a standing contract.

Committee members voted to move the contract on to the full City Council for review.