Another source of funding for government access channels is developing an internal department chargeback system. This allows other city departments to produce programs and/or utilize video services by paying the government access channel for them.
In some cities, the cable operation is considered an internal services department, similar to a city print shop. The city department requests the service from the channel and that particular department is charged. These services may be calculated into the City's annual budget where the departments request and budget for video services on an annual basis.
The internal department chargeback system can also be used on a project-by-project basis as the need arises fro video services. One Southern California city sets up an account with a zero balance at the beginning of each fiscal year and deposit funds for internal department charge back projects. The projects are charged for overhead and administration. At the end of the fiscal year, when the projects are paid for, any unused balance for the channel is used to buy the "little extras" the department may need in small replacement parts or equipment.
Benefits to Using an Internal Department Chargebacks System
A government access channel can offer good quality video production at a
lower cost than the private sector because the video equipment is already owned
and paid for. There is no associated rental cost, which can provide a cost
savings of one-third to one-half of what the private sector may charge.
City departments have needs for video productions that are not in the interest of the general audiences, i.e. training videos, and convention videos. The internal department charge back system gives departments the opportunity to have their videos produced in a cost-efficient manner.
There are other creative ways to generate revenue for government access operations. One may be to sell stock footage of your city to commercial users. Most channels constantly use footage of major city landmarks and popular tourist sites. This footage could be made available to others at a cost. You can also distribute a program through a professional distributor. This depends on the content of the program and whether it would be of interest to schools, libraries or other markets to which distributors cater.