Comcast Owes Leesburg $200 (and counting)

One of the arcanities of local government is the fact that the companies that provide Cable TV service to residents (Verizon and Comcast) are required to enter into "franchise agreements" with localities to have the right to offer that service. The state limits what Towns and Counties are and are not allowed to include in their franchise agreements, and as a result the companies have fairly expansive rights when it comes to the actions they can take to provide service.

But localities like the Town of Leesburg do have some recourses when cable providers are in gross violation of the Franchise agreement. For example, if a cable in town were to remain unburied sixty days after Comcast was notified of it, Comcast would owe the Town $200 for each unburied day that follows.

An unburied television cable at Foster Place in Leesburg
The cable pictured above has been unburied for more than 60 days, and its unburied condition was reported to Comcast on October 3, 2007. This note was forwarded to Comcast, with details, on that day.

From: [Leesburg Resident]
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 10:33 AM
To: [Cable TV Commissioner]
Subject: CABLE EXPOSED
Importance: High

In my neighborhood there is roughly a 15foot expanse of cable exposed which occurred after the town of Leesburg re-surfaced the handicap accessible street corners. The cross roads are Country Club Drive and Foster Place SW on the south side.

There are children in my neighborhood and I am concerned that childhood curiosity could lead to a bigger problem of children playing with unknown cables.

As such, today, Comcast owes Leesburg $200 for non-compliance with the franchise agreement with the Town. That bill increases by $200 each day. By the end of December, Comcast could owe Leesburg $5,600 in penalties if the cable is still unburied.

While I am certain the Town and its taxpayers will be happy to collect this money from Comcast to help the budget in a time of revenue tightening for the Town, Leesburg's citizens would be much better served by having this cable buried as soon as possible.