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Politics & Government

Southampton Village to Hire Firm for Cablevision Payments Audit

Village wants to ensure it is getting all the franchise fee payments it should be.

The Southampton Village Board wants to be sure the village is receiving all the money it should be from the franchise fees its gets from Cablevision and is looking to hire a specialty auditing firm to do the work.

Village Administrator Stephen Funsch said during Thursday's Village Board meeting that he has been in talks with Phone Review, in Jericho, which is offering to take on the job if it can keep 50 percent of the proceeds. Funsch said he believes he can get the firm's take down to 40 or 45 percent.

Mayor Mark Epley said a 60-40 split would be fair, and Funch said he will reach out to an Upstate firm for a competing bid.

Under its contract with Cablevision, the village has the ability to request an audit and can hire a company to act on its behalf, according to Funsch.

The village receives about $160,000 annually from Cablevision, Funsch said, part of which goes toward SEA-TV, a government access cable station that broadcasts village meetings. The amount of the franchise fee is based on things like the number of cable boxes and pay-per-view purchases in the village, he explained.

Funsch said the audit would look back at the five previous years to ensure the village got all the money it should have.

Southampton Village used Phone Review in 2008 for an audit of the municipality's Verizon bills and cut the village's phone billing by one third, Funsch said.

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