Time, money add up in county's TV inquiry

An investigation into the local public-access television station has cost at least $57,000 so far.

By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 10, 2002

TAMPA -- Hillsborough Commissioner Ronda Storms isn't the only person working long hours on her campaign against a local public-access television station.

The County Attorney's Office has so far logged 867 hours since mid-March investigating the station, its operators and its producers, records show.

That equals nearly 11 weeks of full-time work for two employees of the office, though the number actually represents the time of several lawyers and their assistants. By the most conservative estimate, the County Attorney's Office has spent at least $57,000 investigating possible breaches of a $350,000 contract, along with related issues.

Storms said that Speak Up Tampa Bay, the nonprofit operators of the publicly funded station, continue to violate their contract with the county, proving the expenditure is needed.

"It's always an important issue when somebody is breaking their contract," she said. "This just shows how irresponsible Speak Up is."

But two other commissioners, both opposed to Storms' campaign, said the expense is just beginning.

"That's going to be the tip of the iceberg if the county votes to take away the funding for Speak Up Tampa Bay," said Commissioner Jan Platt. "It's going to be an enormous fee. And it's all in the name of politics."

Commission Chairwoman Pat Frank said the county is attempting to censor the station under the guise of a costly effort to prove contractual violations.

"It's unbelievable," she said of the time spent by the county attorney's office. "I think we're trying to catch our tail on this issue."

Storms first contacted State Attorney Mark Ober in March after a constituent raised concerns about graphic nudity on a program then called The Happy Show. But Ober said the show -- which included close up shots of a woman's genitalia -- was not criminally obscene.

Storms claimed that Speak Up violated its contract with the county by failing to police programs such as The Happy Show. She claimed show producer Charles Perkins didn't identify himself in show credits, didn't seek required releases from people appearing on the program and failed to air mature audience warnings.

Station operators deny the breaches, or say they were oversights that they are working to correct. They are in mediation with the county and have until July 24 to come up with a remedy to guard against future problems.

The County Attorney's Office has been involved from the beginning, researching obscenity law and the alleged contract breaches.

According to a written response to a St. Petersburg Times records request, the number of hours worked represents a host of spinoff issues, as well as the original concerns raised by Storms. It includes researching First Amendment law, fielding citizen and media calls, talking with the state attorney, participating in mediation and looking at how other communities deal with public access.

"The issue is one that has generated a lot of interest from the public, the Board (of County Commissioners) and the media," said Christine Beck, the chief assistant county attorney. "And it involves a myriad of complex legal issues as well as the threat of significant litigation."

County budget director Eric Johnson said the cost of one hour of work for the average employee in the County Attorney's Office -- clerks to lawyers -- is $65.58. Much of the work on public access has been performed by the office's top lawyers.

"I'm blown away," said Louise Thompson, president of the Speak Up board. "Eight hundred sixty-seven hours of attorneys' fees would cost us -- and most people -- $130,000 if we paid only $150 per hour. They're spending a whole lot of time on this issue, which makes me wonder who is driving that train while we thought we were in the midst of a settlement."

The attorney's office isn't the only one keeping busy. Technicians at the county's government access station have recorded 92 videotapes of public access shows since mid March for Storms and other county employees. The county normally charges $20 for videocassettes to recoup the cost of the tape and the time it takes a technician to prepare it.

Storms has requested nearly 40 tapes, mostly for reporters, to back up her claims of graphic sexual or violent content on public access shows. Deputy County Administrator Pat Bean has a standing request for every episode of Perkins' latest program, The White Chocolate Show.

Meanwhile, Johnson, the budget director, asked for copies of an entire week's worth of public access shows. He has an employee spot-checking them.

Shortly after Storms raised her concerns, Johnson reprimanded his cable contract supervisor, Frank Turano. He said the supervisor failed to respond to citizen complaints, including one about The Happy Show.

Turano since has been sent to another department, which Johnson said is a coincidence. He said he is handling talks with Speak Up personally, with Turano's occasional consultation.

"It's a very emotional issue," Johnson said. "When things get sensitive, you tend to delegate the issue to a higher level.

"We continue to work with Speak Up on our concerns. At the same time, we're continuing to document the issues we highlighted (previously)."

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