Sunday, May 21, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.
It's a digital, high-definition TV world, but when it comes to bringing local government into people's homes, Henderson and North Las Vegas seem stuck in the black-and-white age.
Long after many local governments, large and small, began televising their meetings on cable stations, the two fast-growing Las Vegas Valley governments remain off the air - and seemingly not in any rush to go prime time.
"The city has grown, but this is not a news flash - we are stuck back in the 1980s," said North Las Vegas resident Harvey Ferber, a regular council meeting attendee.
To some, the two communities' willingness to remain on the video sidelines - 16 years after Clark County and Las Vegas began televising their meetings and other public-service programs - is evidence of their leaders' slowness to shake off small-town habits even as Henderson and North Las Vegas have grown to become sizable cities of 243,730 and 182,159, respectively.
"It's a little unusual that they are not televising their meetings because it is so commonplace," said Eric Herzik, a UNR political science professor. "I am a little surprised that Henderson has not opted for it, as quickly as they are growing. They have always touted government access and being on the cutting edge."
Although Henderson and North Las Vegas negotiated the rights to their own shared Cox Cable channel in 1999, for now, if their residents want to closely follow city issues, they have to do it the old-fashioned way - by attending the meetings in person.
Officials in both cities maintain they have legitimate reasons for not televising the meetings, citing costs and limited public interest in watching the sessions from home.
It could cost several hundred thousand dollars to purchase cameras and other equipment and hire staff for running the city's government access programming, Henderson officials said.
Las Vegas budgets $1.5 million for its government access channel on Cox Channel 2, funding the programming with proceeds from the city's 5 percent franchise fee on cable bills. Clark County spends about $600,000 a year for Cox Channel 4, using funding from the roughly $6 million it earns annually in franchise fees.
"I guess if there is a huge public outcry from citizens feeling the service is lacking, I would be willing to do it," Henderson Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers said. "Our numbers have shown the viewership would be so minute, that spending those kind of dollars wouldn't be justified at this time."
Herzik said such arguments have been heard elsewhere across the country, but that has not stopped most local governments from televising their meetings. And even though viewership of government access channels typically is low, the broadcasts expand governments' openness and public accessibility.
In addition, a 2000 Henderson survey appears to contradict Cyphers' assertion of public disinterest. Forty-six percent of the survey's respondents said they would watch a city access channel often or very often, while only 9 percent said they would watch rarely.
And though nearly 83 percent expressed a preference for family entertainment on TV, about 60 percent said televising council meetings live was important.
Herzik predicts that Henderson and North Las Vegas eventually will televise their meetings, but stresses that will not necessarily create a wave of citizen interest in local government.
"Does it draw in more people? There is no strong indication that is true," Herzik said.
North Las Vegas has followed Henderson's lead over the years, citing the cost and lack of community interest in televising the meetings. Only 53 percent of North Las Vegas residents subscribe to Cox, less than the 59 percent valleywide and Henderson's 70 percent, county officials said.
But North Las Vegas spokeswoman Brenda Johnson said staff is considering whether to recommend the city telecast the meetings over the Internet as part of audio-visual improvements to the council chambers.
North Las Vegas City Manager Gregory Rose said broadcasting meetings on cable will be considered when the council reviews its 2007-2008 capital improvement budget.
Henderson receives $2.1 million a year in franchise fees that it allocates to the city's general fund budget. Similarly, North Las Vegas puts the $1 million that it receives annually in cable franchise fees in its general fund.
Nevada law allows local governments outside of Clark County to charge a separate fee, independent of the franchise fee, to fund government-related broadcasting, said David Riggleman, Las Vegas' communications director.
Riggleman said the city's surveys show that 40 percent of residents who have cable say they watch Channel 2 at least occasionally.
And Erik Pappa, Clark County's communication director, said a 2003 survey showed that half of the respondents watch Channel 4 broadcasts of the county's meetings.
"Our station literally brings the activities of the county into their living room so that they can judge for themselves how we are performing," Pappa said.
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