Community Media Committee Meeting

Agenda Community Media Committee Monona City Hall 5211 Schluter Road Thursday, September 10, 2026 5:00 PM A recording of this meeting may be viewed on YouTube. Notice of Electronic Meeting Option An electronic videoconferencing/teleconferencing option is available for this meeting. As such, it is possible that some or all members of, and a possible quorum, may be in attendance via electronic means and not physically present. The public may attend in person at the location stated above or via Zoom at Invite Link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83068180612?pwd=UlZkdllVSVhxK0pwdWJhWGpvUGVIdz09 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83068180612?pwd=UlZkdllVSVhxK0pwdWJhWGpvUGVIdz09 To attend via telephone conference, call 1-312-626-6799 and enter Meeting ID: 830 6818 0612 Please mute your phone/microphone when not speaking to ensure the best possible audio quality. 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes A. August 26th, 2026 4. Appearances 5. Unfinished Business A. Operational Budget - 2nd Read and Approval 6. New Business 7. Reports (Information Only, No Discussion or Action) A. General Discussion & Updates B. Directors Report C. WVMO Updates 8. Adjournment Public Appearance by Zoom Anyone wishing to speak before the Community Media Committee can do so in person or via Zoom during the Appearances section of the agenda. There is no need to preregister, but please inform the Chair of your intention to speak when you arrive or log in. Page 1 of 9 Written Comments You can send written comments on agenda items to wnimmow@ci.monona.wi.us Accommodations for Disabled Individuals Upon reasonable notice, the City of Monona will accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through auxiliary aids or services. For additional information or to request this service, contact the City Clerk at 608-222-2525, FAX: 608-222-9225, or through the City Police Department TDD telephone number 608-441-0399. Note: The public is notified that any final action taken at a previous meeting may be reconsidered pursuant to the City of Monona ordinances. It is possible that members of and a possible quorum of members of other governmental bodies of the municipality may be in attendance at the above-stated meeting to gather information about or speak on a subject over which they have decision-making responsibility. No action will be taken by any governmental body at the above-stated meeting other than the governmental body specifically referred to above in this notice. Page 2 of 9 Monona Community Media Committee Minutes August 26, 2026 Call to Order The regular meeting of the Monona Community Media Committee was called to order by Alder Rick Berstein at 5:02 PM Roll Call Present: Bill Graf, Katy Byrnes Kaiser, Susan Manning, Amanda Shohoney Absent: Anita Ashland, Dave Brunner, Alex Fortney Excused: Also Present: WVMO Station Director - Joe Martin Approval of Minutes 3.A. July 9, 2026 Motion by Graf, seconded by Byrnes Kaiser to Approve. Motion Passed. Appearances NA Unfinished Business NA New Business 6.A. Comprehensive Plan, Community Media Section - Discussion The group discussed updates to the comprehensive plan, focusing on community media services. Rick suggested adding language about franchise fees and streaming technology to reflect current challenges and developments. Bill Graf advised focusing on a narrow set of impactful items rather than asking for extensive changes, given the planning committee's current workload. The group agreed to review the draft plan when it's released in October and provide public comments at that time. 6.B. 2026 Operational Budget 1st read and possible approval William presented the first draft of the budget, highlighting key revenue changes including a 3% increase in operating funds approved by City Council and a projected decrease in franchise fees due to declining cable subscriptions. Bill Graf inquired about the increase in Monona Grove School District revenue. William explained that school district reimbursement would increase from $93,000 to $108,000 due to the 3% Page 3 of 9 personnel raise allowed under the referendum. William also reviewed various budget line items including professional development, studio maintenance costs, and software subscriptions. William will provide updated franchise fee numbers for the September meeting. William will also discuss with the Finance Director and report back to the committee regarding what the "Allowable increase to tax levy" meant in the budget document. Alder Bernstein indicated that the committee would be able to review the budget over the next month and ask more questions at the second read during the committee's September meeting. Reports (Information Only, No Discussion or Action) 7.A. Directors Report William Nimmow reported that school resumes on September 2 and that the AV Club is looking forward to a successful year, with a larger group of seniors taking on leadership roles. William and Katy discussed strategies for engaging more middle school students, including the possibility of loaning older AV equipment to students so they can gain experience recording middle school concerts and events. William also discussed the potential for organizing a freshman AV camp next summer. William reported that the relationship and agreement with MESBA to produce member profile videos continues to work well. 7.B. WVMO Station Director Updates Joe reported on the station's successful summer events, including concerts at San Damiano and the Atwood Music Hall. Joe continues to develop relationships with local independent music venues, citing Stoughton Opera House as a great underwriting example and looks forward to meeting with the new person in charge at the Barrymore to discuss potential partnerships. Joe also announced the development of a new WVMO app that will soon be available for download. Adjournment Motion by Bill Graf, seconded by Amanda Shohoney to Adjourn. Motion Passed. The meeting was adjourned at 5:57PM Page 4 of 9 City of Monona Franchise Fees 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Charter 98,294.73 100,943.27 102,720.94 102,195.20 102,345.04 94,040.17 75,072.58 76,727.73 72,995.49 68,605.38 58,364.71 26,728.37 Direct TV 38,157.22 32,721.80 25,362.84 22,393.87 19,658.11 15,045.90 10,690.41 9,129.19 7,918.55 6,800.24 6,165.13 2,823.30 TDS - - - - - 836.01 7,766.11 10,965.71 12,076.15 11,998.78 11,684.70 5,695.69 State - - 24,400.63 24,400.63 24,400.63 24,400.63 24,400.63 24,400.63 136,451.95 133,665.07 128,083.78 124,589.07 122,003.15 109,922.08 117,929.73 121,223.26 117,390.82 111,805.03 100,615.17 59,647.99 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Charter 24,573.68 25,235.82 25,680.24 25,548.80 25,586.26 23,510.04 18,768.15 19,181.93 18,248.87 17,151.35 14,591.18 13,364.19 Direct TV 9,539.31 8,180.45 6,340.71 5,598.47 4,914.53 3,761.48 2,672.60 2,282.30 1,979.64 1,700.06 1,541.28 1,411.65 TDS - - - - - 209.00 1,941.53 2,741.43 3,019.04 2,999.70 2,921.18 2,847.85 34,112.99 33,416.27 32,020.95 31,147.27 30,500.79 27,480.52 23,382.28 24,205.66 23,247.55 21,851.10 19,053.64 17,623.68 Quarterly Average - 20,000.00 40,000.00 60,000.00 80,000.00 100,000.00 120,000.00 140,000.00 160,000.00 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Franchise Fees Charter Direct TV TDS Page 5 of 9 2026 MEDIA 2023 2024 2025 TO DATE YEAR END 2026 2027 REVENUES ACTUAL ACTUAL ACTUAL 6/30/2026 ESTIMATED BUDGET BUDGET GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES 10,000 38,360 113,166 116,784 116,784 116,784 120,771 STATE AID 24,401 24,401 24,401 - 24,401 24,401 24,401 FRANCHISE FEES 92,990 87,405 76,215 17,798 71,190 88,000 88,000 SCHOOL REIMBURSMENT 85,609 93,479 111,234 70,864 - 93,000 108,000 OTHER REVENUE-NON SCHOOL - - - - - - 13,000 FUND BALANCE APPLIED - - - - - - - 213,000 243,644 325,015 205,446 212,375 322,185 354,172 EXPENDITURES TELEVISON WAGES 95,519 98,854 125,191 63,837 - 127,669 131,499 TV WAGES, PART TIME 4,631 5,499 4,313 2,119 - 8,165 8,165 OVERTIME - - 935 1,808 - 5,000 5,000 FICA 7,823 8,140 10,058 5,152 - 10,773 11,067 WISCONSIN RETIREMENT 6,700 7,028 8,907 4,797 - 9,552 9,896 LIFE & DISABILITY INSURANCE 34 36 42 29 - 36 60 HEALTH INSURANCE 12,740 13,203 20,542 14,886 - 13,491 31,986 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1,285 905 636 198 - 794 750 ADMINISTRATION/ACCTING SERV 2,300 2,300 2,300 - - 2,300 2,300 TELEPHONE 916 600 950 300 - 1,200 1,200 OFFICE SUPPLIES - - 278 17 - 195 300 STUDIO MAINTENANCE 2,714 2,478 6,833 3,043 - 2,488 4,988 FUEL AND GAS 36 181 190 114 - 250 250 INSURANCE 675 675 675 - - 675 675 MEDIA COMMUNITY ROOM - 1,022 1,022 511 - - 1,022 EQUIPMENT 7,121 1,243 2,410 555 - 5,000 2,150 142,494 142,164 185,282 97,364 - 187,588 211,308 RADIO WAGES 24,931 26,332 37,291 18,567 - 37,580 38,242 RADIO WAGES - Part time 38,339 46,879 56,404 28,697 - 68,300 70,431 FICA 4,840 5,601 7,241 3,656 - 8,100 8,313 WISCONSIN RETIREMENT 1,695 3,198 5,231 2,777 - 2,631 7,879 LIFE & DISABILITY INSURANCE 14 15 16 10 - 15 20 Page 6 of 9 HEALTH INSURANCE 582 592 1,575 834 - 1,933 1,681 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - 193 70 - - 60 75 LEGAL - 584 - - - 500 500 STUDIO MAINTENANCE - 2,774 1,775 1,775 - 1,800 1,800 INSURANCE 203 203 203 - - 203 203 STREAMING SERVICE 12,192 8,631 8,880 5,234 - 10,575 10,720 MUSIC LICENSE 2,242 2,686 13,095 2,415 - 2,900 3,000 85,039 97,686 131,782 63,964 - 134,597 142,864 Allowable Increase To Tax Levy 120,288$ Allowable Dollar increase to the Levy 3,504$ Levy Increase/decrease -74% 2026 PROPOSED DIFFERENCE PERSONNEL 293,305 324,314 11% 31,009 NON-PERSONNEL 28,880 29,858 3% 978 TOTAL 322,185 354,172 10% 31,987 2027 Page 7 of 9 4.1.5 COMMUNICATION SERVICES There are many telecommunication service providers who provide basic communication services to city residents. These include voice transmission services, data transmission service, multimedia services, and broadcast services. Monona Community Media, a partnership between the City of Monona and the Monona Grove School District, operates on channels provided through a franchise agreement with Charter Communications and AT&T U-Verse. Monona Community Media is a Public Access, Education and Government television station (PEG channel). In addition to airing the public meetings of city government and the school district, it allows the citizens of Monona the opportunity to broadcast community events or programming produced by area residents. In 2015, the City of Monona launched a new Low-Power FM Radio Station: 98.7FM WVMO - The Voice of Monona. The radio broadcast station is housed at City Hall. In addition to the over-the-air broadcast, WVMO streams over the internet at wvmo.fm. In 2009, the MUFN-C combined 16 Madison area groups to request a federal grant to improve network infrastructure between them. MUFN was awarded a $5.1 million grant by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) in the first round of the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In 2015, the City of Monona formally joined the Metropolitan Unified Fiber Network- Consortium (MUFN-C) to take advantage of a regional fiber network called the Metropolitan Unified Fiber Network (MUFN). MUFN is a collaborative metro fiber-optic network serving education, health, government, and non-profit anchor institutions in the Madison, Middleton, and Monona, WI area. The MUFN allows the city to connect its buildings and facilities to its private network and also facilitates connectivity with other member communities for regional collaborative efforts. Page 8 of 9 Page 9 of 9