Page 10-Wednesday, July 18, 1979-The Michigon Daily
Council revises
By JOHN GOYER
and PATRICIA HAGEN Owners to set si
City Council Monday night passed
long-awaited revisions to Ann Arbor's franchise fee a buyer of the system
cable television ordinance, allowing a would have to pay the city. The new or-
company running the city's-fable TV dinance, however, requires that as the
system to set its own subscriber rates. system makes more money, a company
The revisions are aimed at finding a would have to pay the city a larger per-
buyer for the financially troubled cable centage of its profits.
system. The company currently A COMPANY operating the cable TV
operating the city's cable TV system is system could also set its own rates, ac-
$4.5 million in debt. cording to the new ordinance, if fewer
AFTER COUNCIL failed to approve than 70 per cent of the pity's residents
similar ordinance changes two months subscribe to cable TV. The system now
ago, representatives of a company that has 9,100 subscribers.
had expressed interest in buying the The new ordinance also demands less
city's cable TV system walked out of expansion from a company buying the
the Council chambers in disgust, saying cable system. Formerly, a company
their company was no longer in- would have been required to expand the
terested. system by laying a certain amount of
But last night, William Cullen, cable each year. Now, a company only
manager and consultant for the firm must see that 85 per cent of the city's
currently operating cable TV in Ann residents can subscribe 15 years after
Arbor, said he would notify the Denver- the franchise.
based company, Daniels and Under the new ordinance, a company
Associates, of the ordinance changes also would have to provide two chan-
and find out if it is still interested in nels for public access, down from the
purchasing Ann Arbor's cable TV fran- four channels previously required. Af-
chise. ter two years, the company could be
The revisions passed Monday night required to provide four public chan-
would initially reduce the monthly nels.
cable TV law
ubscriber rates
AFTER MONDAY night's meeting,
Cullen said this provision could be an
obstacle to selling the cable TV system
to Daniels and Associates.
Democratic Council members op-
posed the ordinance revisions, because,
they said, they thought the ordinance
granted a monopoly and relinquished
city control over the cable TV system.
In other business Monday night,
Council approved the two-year contract
recently negotiated with Local 369 of
the American Federation of State,
County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME). The new contract was
ratified June 30, just in time to prevent
a strike by 305 city workers, which
would have halted refuse collection and
other essential services.
THE SETTLEMENT included a
seven per cent pay increase and a 25-
cent per hour maximum on the cost-of-
living allowance (COLA) for union
members.
Funds to cover the one per cent ad-
ditional salary and 15 cent per hour ad-
ditional COLA limit will be transferred
from the enterprise and general funds.,
In addition to across the board pay in-
creases, the contract provides for
upgrading pay ranges for 100 em-
ployees and the reclassification of 100
positions.
Similar pay raises for non-union city
employees also were approved by
Council. About 140 department heads,
senior secretaries, administrative
assistants, and employees in non-union
city departments will receive a seven
per cent increase.
THE RESOLUTION passed by Coun-
cil also gave the go-ahead for a merit
fund for non-union employees. This new
$32,540 fund, will allow personnel to
receive payments of $166 twice each
year, if evaluated favorably by super-
visors.
Council also passed revisions to the
city's parking ordinance to bring the
ordinance in line with a state law going
into effect August 1.
The ordinance keeps fines for parking
tickets the same as in the past, but
gives the city the opportunity to ask the
state to suspend the driver's license of
anyone who fails to respond first to a
parking ticket, and then to a mailed
citation.
U.S. cautiously wel
WASHINGTON (AP)-The United close an identification with the five-
States welcomed the demise of the member junta and that spokesman
Somoza regime in Nicaragua yester- Carter's statement was deliberately
day, despite more than 40 years of close low-key.
ties to that Central American gover- "WE DON'T WANT to make it look as
nments t though we created them," said an of-
The State Department said the ficial who asked not to be identified.
United States now wants a fresh begin- The United States was widely perceived
ning with the successor government in as a main pillar of support for Somoza.
Managua. For the junta, a close U.S. embrace
Within hours of President Anastasio
Somoza's flight to exile in Florida,
State Department spokesman Hodding 80m ozR e
Carter said the United States wishes
"to look to the future and to build a
relationship of mutual respect" with, ""'' ,
the new government. past 24 hours, ready to fight.
WITH THE CALL for a cease-fire, Junta spokesman Manuel Espinoza
Carter said, the United States plans an said, "Urcuyo will be responsible for
immediate expansion of its emergency the bloodbath that is going to follow if
airlift to feed the hungry in Nicaragua. he does not turn power over to the new
He also said the new provisional government."
government about to take power there The United States, which for more
has indicated its interest in a "friendly than 40 years supported the Somoza
and cooperative" relationship with the dynasty, earlier yesterday promised to
United States. expand an airlift to feed Nicaragua's
But State Department officials said hungry. A State Department
the United States wants tok avoid too spokesman said the provisional gover-
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ROLLER,
761-6207 m-so 10-5:30 thur-fri til 8pm
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csomes Somoza 'sfall
might be more of a liablility than an the Nicaraguan Congress, who, under
asset, the official said. prior arrangements, was scheduled to
Other officials said a U.S. expression surrender authority to the provisional
of support for the junta was withheld government.
because the administration wants to BUT URCUYO reportedly said he in-
see if the junta will carry out its tends to remain in power beyond the
promise to hold free elections and to brief period necessary for the tran-
protect human rights in Nicaragua. sition. This drew an expression of
Somoza turned over power to Francis "grave concern" from the State Depar-
Urcuyo, president of the lower house of tment late yesterday.
es, rebel take-over blocked
nment had expressed interest in
"friendly and cooperative relations"
with the United States.
STATE DEPARTMENT spokesman
Hodding Carter said the United States,
in turn, looked forward to building "a
new relationship of mutual respect with
the people and government of
Nicaragua."
With a possibility of continued tur-
moil remaining, however, Carter ad-
ministration sources in Washington
said a U.S. Navy amphibious assault
anywhere on
earth clothes
*+++7******
ship was standing off the east coast of
Nicaragua, ready to use 19 soldiers and
four helicopters to evacuate Americans
if necessary.
Somoza said he would "absolutely
not" try to "launch any counter-
revolution form his new base in
Florida. -
"I HAVE to be neutral in the United
States," Somoza told UPI. "But I will
continue to fight for my beliefs with my
words, my mouth, my writing. I plan to
write for the cause of freedom, liberty
and liberalism in Nicaragua."
In Costa Rica, junta member Sergie
Ramirez Mercado said the new gover-
nment would ask for Somoza's ex-
tradition to stand trial for crimes
against the Nicaraguan people.
Guaranteed
Student Loon
Applications ...
For Fall Term 1979 are due in
the Office of Financial Aid,
2011 SAB by Friday, Aug. 3.
THE DEADLINE FOR THE
FALL/WINTER APPLICATION
PERIOD IS NOVEMBER 30,
1979