[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Township of Marlboro 2-28-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-4 (Ch. A157 of the 1981
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
Marlboro Township shall provide educational
and governmental (EG) access facilities and technical support to provide
information, educate the public and augment the communications network
of the municipality in a nonpolitical and noncommercial manner. The
expansion of the channel to include Public Access (PEG) will fully
broaden the public's use of cable television as a communication medium
in a noncommercial manner. Separate and distinct rules, policies,
regulations, procedures, and standards will individually govern the
EG and its expansion to PEG, in accordance with municipal, county,
state and federal laws.
[Amended 3-15-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-17]
The Office of Public Information, whose director
is recognized as the PEG Coordinator, will oversee Marlboro Township's
EG/PEG cablecasting. Within the Department of Administration will
be a new division entitled "Cable Television," the head of which shall
be the Cable TV Coordinator, who will report directly to the Director
of Public Information. The Cable TV Coordinator shall be responsible
for the following:
A.
Conducting research, undertaking studies, compiling
data, and creating resident surveys with the goal of improving cable
television for the enrichment of the residents of Marlboro Township;
B.
Supervising and training all paid and unpaid staffing
to the Office of Cable Television for the EG/PEG channel;
C.
Conducting monthly orientation sessions for access
users and volunteers as well as leading training workshops which will
culminate in the administration of competency tests and certifications
for all access users;
D.
Writing and implementing separate regulatory manuals
for EG and PEG cablecasting, which will include descriptions of operations;
guidelines and procedures; technical standards; training and certifications
for volunteers; equipment and studio usage; policies; permission procedures;
editing rules; programming; scripts and series specifications; producer
and access user agreements; corporate sponsorship regulations; renewals
and cancellations; community bulletin board formats and agreements;
personal release forms; user liability agreements; contracts; and
the procedures for violations and enforcement.
E.
Submitting all programming and the week's programming
guide for inclusion on the EG/PEG channel to the Director of Public
Information prior to airing and the writing of scripts;
F.
Maintaining all files for the cable TV studio, including,
but not limited to, a tape library;
G.
Overseeing the budget, purchases, contracts and assignments
with the approval of the Director of Public Information;
H.
Directing operations in the cable TV studio, supervising
personnel, and maintaining all equipment;
I.
Keeping abreast of all federal and state legislation
and regulations so as to determine whether the EG/PEG channel is maintaining
compliance with the law;
J.
Assisting private and public schools and their designated
representatives with programming inclusion on the EG/PEG channel;
K.
Meeting quarterly with the Executive Cable TV Advisory
Board and the Volunteer Cable TV Committee, and filing an annual report
on the activities of the cable TV studio and station for submission
by the Office of Public Information to the governing body of the municipality;
and,
L.
Assisting in the acquisition of grants and corporate
sponsorships for the programming on the EG/PEG channel.
All cable television staff shall be under the
auspices of the Director of Public Information. With the exception
of paid cable consultants and the Cable TV Coordinator, all cast,
crew, producers, directors, etc., will be unpaid volunteers to the
extent practicable. Crew members must be 14 years or older, unless
prohibited by applicable federal or state child labor laws. All volunteers
and access users must undergo an orientation session, training workshop,
and user certification test, if applicable. Only persons 18 years
or older who have been certified by the Cable Television Coordinator
shall be permitted to use the equipment. All equipment or studio users
shall be financially responsible for the cost or replacement or repair
of any damage to the production facility or use of equipment in or
out of the studio caused by his or her usage. All equipment and studio
users shall be required to sign an agreement confirming their liability
prior to using the equipment or studio. All participants or their
legal guardians must sign programming personal release forms if appearing
on camera or working on a production.
Separate operating procedures, technology standards, and guidelines manuals will govern operations and programming on the EG/PEG channel, as defined under § A403-5; however, the following regulations shall also apply:
A.
No program, production, or presentation shall be cablecast
which directly or indirectly involves any lottery information or which
involves a lottery, gift, contest, commercial enterprise, or similar
scheme;
B.
No program, production or presentation shall be cablecast
or permitted to be cablecast which involves obscene material or other
unprotected speech, including, but not limited to, slander, libel
and invasion of privacy;
C.
EG cablecasting will not be used for political purposes;
however, EG cablecasting is permitted to broadcast regular or special
public meetings of the Township Council. Although EG cablecasting
cannot be used as a vehicle to specifically promote the passage of
any particular legislation, public referendum, or act proposed by
the governing body or any board of education, such items may be aired
as a matter of course during any regular or special public meeting
of the Township Council. No political candidates, whether local, county,
state, or federal, are permitted to appear on the EG cablecasting,
except if they are inadvertently included in a group shot, or are
the Mayor, a member of the Township Council, or a member of the public,
attending and participating in a regular or special public Township
Council meeting. This rule shall be effective from the moment they
are selected until after the formal election date. Political candidacy
also covers incumbents running for political election. No individual
or organization may appear specifically for the sole purpose of acting
on the behalf of any candidate or to espouse any legislation or referendum
issue. However, the broadcast of any person acting on behalf of any
candidate or who espouses any legislation or referendum issue during
the course of a regular or special public Township Council meeting
is permitted. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent the
Mayor or a member of the Township Council appearing on the EG cablecasting
for any official governmental purpose or for any purpose associated
with the normal day-to-day functions of the Township government. These
regulations are not in effect for PEG cablecasting, which falls under
public access regulations.
[Amended 3-6-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-4; 12-9-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-28]
D.
No political debates will be televised on EG cablecasting,
however, they are permitted on PEG cablecasting;
E.
No advertising may be sold to fund the EG/PEG channel.
The channel will be funded through the Office of Public Information
Budget. Any material that promotes or is designed to present commercial
fund-raising is prohibited with the exception of nonprofit fund-raising
events that may be telecast on the community bulletin board. Marlboro
Township reserves the right, in its reasonable discretion, to reject
any notice designed to solicit names and addresses which may be used
for future commercial fund-raising or gain. Notwithstanding the above,
"credit" type notices announcing the underwriting funding for a production
shall not be interpreted as a "commercial use" and therefore will
be permitted at the end of a program. In accordance with applicable
law, a support or grant originator can underwrite the costs of specific
programs which can be acknowledged by a simple statement before or
after the specific program stating the names of the underwriting entity
or individuals for no more than 30 seconds. Such credit
may contain a logo. However, reference to address, telephone numbers,
e-mail addresses, and/or website information is prohibited from the
credit;
F.
All material cablecast that uses copyrighted material
must obtain all appropriate rights, permissions, and clearances for
usage prior to broadcast. Marlboro Township reserves the right to
request evidence of the same in its reasonable discretion;
G.
In the event a question or dispute arises regarding
the applicability or interpretation of the rules, regulations, standards,
guidelines, and operation procedures tied to the EG/PEG channel, the
initial referral shall be to the Office of Public Information for
conflict resolution. Should the matter remain unresolved, referral
shall be made next to the Department of Law and/or the Executive Cable
TV Advisory Board;
H.
All material submitted to the Office of Cable TV becomes
the property of the municipality, unless a stamped, self-addressed
envelope is enclosed for return of submitted photographs, tapes, and/or
written materials;
I.
A community bulletin board will be televised on the
EG/PEG channel listing educational, recreational, cultural, public
information, and municipal messages. Information contained on the
bulletin board will include date/time/instructions for municipal meetings
and events, emergency notifications and municipal news, recycling
information and schedules, community police notices, educational (private
and public school) notices, announcements, and meetings, as per a
format designed by the Office of Public Information. The inclusion
of community notices is encouraged for inclusion as a medium for nonprofit
organizations to inform the public of educational, cultural, or entertainment
events. All notices must be submitted to the Cable TV Coordinator
at least two weeks prior to the desired cablecast. This rule does
not apply to emergency notifications. Application forms may be acquired
from the Office of Public Information, 1979 Township Drive, Marlboro,
New Jersey. Rules governing length, manner of repetition, etc., will
be printed on the forms, as well as in the operations manual. The
Office of Cable TV reserves the right to reject notices not filed
in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Marlboro Township
cable TV station or that violate applicable state and federal laws.
(This section has been reserved for the future
inclusion of the operating procedures, technology standards, and guidelines
manual for cablecasting on the EG/PEG channel.)
