WEST DECATUR – More and more, municipalities are faced with filling out applications and uploading information to state agencies online. In addition, engineers, solicitors and others request to communicate via e-mail, so many municipalities are finding themselves spending a lot of time online due to older dial-up connections.
A few municipalities in Clearfield County are on high-speed access, and a few even have their own Web sites, but one municipality has found a way to have its Internet access for free and profit from the agreement for it at the same time.
Boggs Township signed an agreement with Comcast through 2025 that allows the township to receive free high-speed cable Internet access for free for the length of the contract. The savings to the township is about $95 per month or about $1,200 per year.
The township also approved signing a resolution Monday night in opposition to a state plan to regulate cable franchise agreements. If approved in Harrisburg, local municipalities would lose their right to negotiate cable franchising agreements.
“It would take revenue from municipalities,” said Boggs Township Supervisor Chairman Bill Dickson.
Boggs Township receives about $5,000 per year in cable franchise fees. The money is placed into the general fund.