Experience Section:

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

The Buske Group was retained by these local access organizations to conduct an evaluation of the operation and management of their facilities and an ascertainment of access-related needs and interests.  The following consulting services were provided:

1. Preparation and submission of questionnaires to collect information about the local access organization's equipment inventory and recent levels of community use of access resources;

2. On-site inspection of the production facilities;

3. Interviews with members of the access organization staff and Board of Directors;

4. Meetings with city and school representatives;

5. Focus group sessions designed to obtain the opinions of public access producers about current and prospective services offered by the local access organization;

6. A telephone survey of cable subscribers regarding their awareness of programming and services offered by the local access organization, and their opinions of the organization and its operations (Salina only); and

7. Compilation of all this information in a written report of findings and recommendations.

City and County of Denver, Colorado

The Buske Group was retained by the City and County of Denver to conduct an evaluation of the operation and management of Public, Educational, and Governmental Access and an ascertainment of PEG Access community needs and interests pertaining to franchise renewal. The following consulting services were provided:

A utilization review of all PEG Access channels, including facilities, training activities, channel capacity, programming, organizational structure, responsibilities of the cable operator, and the role of the City and County government;

An assessment of the performance of Denver Community Television in accordance with its Management Agreement with the City and County of Denver and the cable operator;

A review and evaluation of the terms of the above Management Agreement and recommendations of possible modifications of the Agreement that would improve future relationships between the parties and enhance Public Access operations;

Meetings with representatives of each PEG Access management entity and other interested individuals to discuss and identify future needs and interests; and

Focus group sessions with current Public Access producers and representatives of other organizations to identify ways that PEG Access could better serve Denver residents.

 

City of West Sacramento, California

The Buske Group was retained to assist West Sacramento by conducting a detailed performance review of the cable system operator and developing a plan for the implementation of PEG access.

The review initially entailed an analysis of the cable franchise, ordinance, and other related documents. After completing these tasks and preparing charts and tables to identify the obligations of the cable operators, The Buske Group conducted a detailed compliance audit that included:

1. An engineering review of system design, cable plant, operations, maintenance, and the level of technical compliance;

2. Inspection of the cable operator's complaint and complaint resolution records;

3. Examination of the internal customer service standards and practices, as well as the training provided for the company's customer service representatives;

4. A customer satisfaction survey;

5. A review of records of payment of franchise fees and a determination of whether the fees were properly computed and submitted to the City;

6. Verification of the cable operator's level of compliance with all franchise obligations;

7. Recommendation of steps to be taken by the City to assure ongoing franchise compliance;

8. Suggestion of revisions to the current customer service standards and franchise agreement; and

9. A series of negotiations with the cable operator to remedy areas of noncompliance.

City of Wadsworth, Ohio

The Buske Group was retained by the City to conduct a detailed performance and franchise compliance review of the Public Access operation in Wadsworth.  The review was part of a tri-annual performance review of the cable operator serving the City of Wadsworth.

The consultant reviewed all management policies, operations, and services provided for access and compared those with the contractual obligations of the cable operator. A detailed performance review document resulted from our analysis. As a result, The Buske Group was retained by the law firm of Spiegel and McDiarmid to provide ongoing assistance during the period of time necessary to negotiate with the cable operator to bring them into contract compliance.

In 1995, the City again retained The Buske Group to conduct work on its behalf.  Our duties included a customer satisfaction survey and assistance in the process to identify cable related community needs and interests.

The Buske Group
 3001 J Street, Suite 201 - Sacramento, CA, 95816-4400
Phone: (916) 441-6277 - Fax: (916) 441-7670