Elmer Bertsch

"It is sad that in this 30th anniversary year of serving Schenectady County, we are facing our biggest financial crisis ever," said Elmer Bertsch, president of SACC.

Time Warner's contract with Schenectady expired in April, but the New York State Public Service Commission issued temporary authority for the cable operator to continue serving the city, as well as the suburbs of Niskayuna, Glenville and Rotterdam, through October as long as it met the terms and conditions of expired pact.Bertsch said that although Time Warner has continued to pay other fees, it has refused pay the $80,000 the city passes on to Channel 16 each year.

"The board is confident that Time Warner doesn't want Channel 16 to fail after 30 years, but we are now using $8,000 a month from reserves just to sustain our operations," he said.

To date, however, Time Warner has not paid any of that money, said Elmer Bertsch, president of the Schenectady Access Cable Council, which operates the station and which covers City Council meetings.

Speaking as much to the television audience as to the council, Bertsch appealed for donations to keep the station running, noting the organization is using about $8,000 a month from "our rainy day fund" to meet operating expenses.

"This station is too valuable to the community," he noted.

~ Elmer Bertsch