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Under the discredited program, the county picked up the tab when residents refused to pay, because cable hookups were purchased in bulk. Residents were asked to pay cable bills along with their rent, but those who refused got service for free and did not face eviction for such a "minor issue," said Dan Nackerman, the county housing authority's new chief.
Under the bulk deal the county attempted to bill all 500 households in the county public housing program for cable television service -- regardless of whether the tenants wanted the service or could afford it.
Tiburon tenant advocate Cathy Cortez noted that was unfair. Bulk service could not be unplugged for vacant housing or individual units.
"The meter runs all the time, even for vacant units," said Edward Griffin, outgoing interim director of the authority. Even though the bulk deal provided a big discount, the county ended up picking up a tab of from $16 to $24 per month for those refusing to pay, and for units that were vacant, he said.
Specifics on how many households have been getting a free ride on cable service or the overall cost of the program were unavailable.
The county housing board agreed unanimously Tuesday that the bulk contract program will be dropped when most cable contracts expire in summer 2010.
"It's important in light of our budget
that we look at how we are spending money," said Supervisor Susan Adams, who serves on the housing panel with her colleagues.
Nackerman, former head of San Bernardino's public housing program who has been on the job as Marin's $164,600-a-year housing chief for a week, had no immediate estimate of how much the flawed bulk cable program had cost the county -- or residents billed for service they did not want.
He pledged to seek a new cable deal that includes discounted service for seniors, the disabled and low-income residents.
The housing board welcomed Nackerman to Marin and lauded Griffin for serving as interim chief this year.
Contact Nels Johnson via e-mail at ij.civiccenter@gmail.com
Read more San Rafael stories at the IJ's San Rafael section.
To see more of The Marin Independent Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.marinij.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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