by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

A Recap from the JAG General Meeting on October 29, 2025

Special Section Dedicated to ADA Title II Web and Mobility Access Compliance to WCAG 2.1 Level AA Rules

On October 29th, the Jersey Access Group broke away from our normal general meeting and focused on the ADA requirements that all of us will most likely need to start providing. The following is important information from the meeting:

• Any video on government websites (or anywhere on the web) must have closed captioning, whether it’s VOD or live streaming.
• Videos (except for live streamed) also need audio descriptions.
• This must be accomplished by April 26, 2026, for communities with more than 50,000 residents and by April 26th, 2027, for communities with less than 50,000 residents.

From Mike Wassenaar, President-Alliance for Community Media (ACM)

• Certain rules about communication for state and local governments were a part of the DOJ order that occurred in 2024. The ADA didn’t change, but responsibilities that nonprofits and local governments have to the public is being clarified. This is really more about a quality issue as opposed to a yes or no question.
• Community media must provide effective communication for the community based upon what people who need accommodations need. For example, captioning will not work for someone who is illiterate or for American Sign Language speakers. Captioning alone wouldn’t meet their needs.
• This ruling came up with captioning as sort of a uniform quality standard for video, particularly to be able to meet as many needs as possible in a community.
• There’s a private right of action by individuals under ADA. State or local government can be sued for not actually complying with ADA and not trying to examine the standards. Government entities must make the best effort to figure out how it can provide these services in the community.
• Get accurate competitive quotes to provide those services. Some budget decisions must be made about how to meet (or not meet) those standards. The local unit of government has to make a determination. it’s an undue burden under ADA—regardless of whether or not it is a nonprofit contractor.
• We want to provide services for the entire community, make the best accommodation possible, and where things are uneconomical, state it responsibly. A local government can’t shed its responsibility by subcontracting out services. It is the government entity’s communication regardless of the site it is on—which could be anything from Facebook and YouTube to its own sort of streaming services that may be operating directly on its website.
• The good thing is that there’s no requirement for backwards compatibility prior to the deadline. You don’t have to go through 50 years of programming that you’ve got online, there’s not a legal requirement to caption everything. Moving forward after the deadline you have to have a plan in place.
• If compliance presents an undue burden, local government is responsible for communicating that to the people under ADA.
• If your community has a disability rights commission, start thinking about them as a partner for providing these services. Also, State Human Rights and Disability Rights Commission will often have access to programming grants/awards or they could be your partner in advocating for money from the state specifically for these types of projects.
• Reach out to other colleagues here in New Jersey and across the country, because there are solutions that you can provide for your community as we move forward. There are a lot of people who are really interested in your success.

Mike Wassenaar and the ACM have also shared with us a slideshow ACCESSIBILITY RULES EVERY PEG CHANNEL SHOULD UNDERSTAND highlighting everything you need to know about these rules, as well as the following list of key takeaways to remember about disability access with your channels and services:

• You are probably exempt from FCC rules regarding captioning. ACM is recommending starting next July 1, you should list a point of contact for consumer questions to the FCC.
• If you provide captions, but they are not transmitted by a cable operator on your channels, tell the FCC as this is against the law. Email dro@fcc.org or use the link https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/closed-captioning-television
• You are NOT exempt from ADA requirements. They require all non-profits and local governments to assess the costs of providing effective communication for residents. Solutions must be based on what residents need. You may not be required to provide that service if it fundamentally changes what you do or it presents an undue economic burden. Guidelines are at https://www.ada.gov/resources/effective-communication/.
• Starting April 24, 2026, local governments serving more than 50K people must provide online communications that meet a minimum WCAG standard. This rule applies to all governments starting April 24, 2027. This includes captioning for live video online, and descriptive audio for pre-recorded video online. You should determine the costs for compliance with the new rule and plan either to meet the standards for your online presence or to make the case that compliance with one or more elements presents an undue burden. In either case, decision makers with local government need to be involved.
• Regardless of the Federal Government’s enforcement of the ADA, these rules can be enforced through private legal action; local governments and non-profits would be subject to legal liability if they fail to act appropriately.
• Technology and pricing change; you should be prepared to assess costs for compliance regularly.

If you need more information, contact:

• Bob Duthaler, President, Jersey Access Group bduthaler@jagonline.org
• Mike Wassenaar, President, Alliance for Community Media mwassenaar@allcommunitymedia.org
• David Garb, Legislative Chair, Jersey Access Group davegarb@paps.net

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

A Special Webinar held on September 29th regarding the Altice PEG Channel Switches in New Jersey, and the Surrounding Tri-State Municipalities

Around the 21st of August, all PEG Stations who are part of the Altice/Optimum cable system had their channels switched from their normal positions to the 1300-1317 spectrum. It effected the entire tri-state area and no-one received messages from Altice that this change was coming or had time to re-brand our stations to inform our residents. 

After a lot of yelling from the municipalities and other parties, all channels were switched back to their original positions by the 3rd week of September.

Below are a some points that were made from our special webinar to prepare all of us for the future, in the event this channel change is attempted again:

From Gerard Lederer, Attorney – Best, Best and Krieger:

• Make sure that your city attorney or your town attorney or township attorney understands, that unless the franchise agreement talks about notice, so there’s just not a notice of the changeover,
• You can also ask for money to help you with the updating of the branding. That’s something that can be in the franchise.
• What you need to do right now is fight for your current channel position. There’s the government way that you can send letters to Altice and the BPU stating *not* to move your channel and you can urge that people are grown accustomed to its current position because your station’s been around for, “Number of Years”.  It is also used for our emergency management needs.  Also, who’s footing the bill for your services? the community is the consumer, that’s who!. And anything that disrupts the consumer, they will take it into account.
  • The Value of the Location: It’s always the number and you’ve made an investment in. There’s a legal theory of detrimental reliance. You rely upon a representation to your detriment and if the other person pulls the rug out from underneath you, may have a claim or a cause of action for that detrimental reliance.
  • What’s your stationary have on it?  What’s your logo look like?  Does it incorporate the number?  If it has those things now, that’s going to have to be changed out and where does the resources come from to do that?
  • The argument that many of us make at the negotiating table for why if you move us, you got to give us time. You got to give us a certain amount of money so that we can update things like our stationery. And If you have a locally negotiated franchise, then it ought to be addressing you as an individual community.
• Encourage your municipalities to send out a letter to Altice and BPU, stating that you want your channel to remain in this position, that you’re, communities invested in this year. The BPU has got to know from your mayors, your council, your clerk. They have to know what’s going on for them to watch and act. They’re a reactive organization, so they don’t just step out and stop something, they react when something happens. So that’s why you must keep them informed and they react on what the municipalities and people send them. The BPU must be copied on letters sent to Altice.

Additional Information about HD and Systemwide Franchises from Gerard Lederer, Attorney – Best, Best and Krieger:

• HD – if you’re under a local franchise, it would have to be something that would have to be negotiated. Altice has moved to a system-wide franchise in this state in several of their communities. Under the rules of the system-wide franchise, the state has already, the BPU has already stated that an HD channel must be part of that package. So if you’re in a community where your franchise is no longer under local and they’ve moved to the system wide, you can request an HD channel.
• To Request HD: All letters have to come from the township on municipal letterhead. That’s always the case because they are the overseer of the franchise.

“Dear, …, it has come to our attention or it is our belief that our community, (put your community’s name in it), franchised with Altice, now holds a systemwide franchise for our service area. That being the case, the community would like to request that our PEG channel be elevated to HD as provided by the system-wide franchise negotiated by the BPU.”

• How do you know if your cable provider requested to be a systemwide franchise? They would send an application into the BPU and the BPU would notify you and they would also would notify your municipality as well. They would let both your municipality and the BPU know that they want to switch that over to the system wide franchise. So your clerk would have received the letter. It’s the municipal clerk that the BPU communicates with.

JAG Sessions at NJ League of Municipalities Annual Conference November 18-20 Annual NJLM Conference

• Nov. 19, 10:45-12:00pm in room 416: Are Your Municipal Codes Ready for new Wireless Technologies?

Speakers: Bob Duthaler, JAG President, Gerard Lederer, Attorney at Law, Best Best & Krieger LLP, and Mayor Brian C. Wahler, Piscataway

Association: Jersey Access Group (JAG) and NJ League of Municipalities

Description: With anticipated changes to the wireless and broadband deployment regulations from Washington, are your municipal codes ready to deal with changes to shot clock regulations and design standards.  This panel will tell you what to expect and what you need to do to protect your rights to control the future deployment of wireless transmission equipment in your municipality.

CEUs: CMFO-1.5 Off Mgmt | CCFO-1.5 Off Mgnt | CTC-1.5 Gen/Sec | CPWM-1.5 Mgmt | RMC-1.5 Prof Devel | QPA-1.5 Off Admin | CPR-1.25 PDC | LGLP-5.0 | NJCLE-1.5 | PACLE-1.0 | RPPO/RPPS-1.5 M/S | Planning-1.25 Tech | Land Use-1.25 Tech | Zoning-1.25 Tech

• Nov. 20, 10:45-12:00pm in room 310: Maximizing Municipal Benefits in Local/Statewide Cable Franchises

Speakers: Bob Duthaler, President, JAG, Gerard Lederer, Attorney at Law, Best Best & Krieger LLP, Michael Ruger, Committee Member, Hopewell Township, and Nancy Wolf, Coordinator, State & Local Planning NJBPU

Association: Jersey Access Group (JAG), and NJ League of Municipalities

Description: The panel will explore the local and systemwide cable franchise processes and how municipalities can maximize community benefits and ensure effective oversight. CEUs: CMFO-1.5 Off Mgmt | CCFO-1.5 Off Mgmt | CTC-1.5 Gen/Sec | CPWM-1.5 Mgmt | RMC-1.5 Prof Devel | QPA-1.5 Off Admin | CRP-1.25 Classroom | LGLP-5.0 | NJCLE-1.5 | PACLE-1.0 | RPPO/RPPS-1.5 M/S

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

A Debacle with Altice and the PEG Community in New Jersey, and the Surrounding Tri-State Municipalities

Around August 21, all PEG stations that are part of the Altice/Optimum cable system had their channels moved from their normal positions to the 1300-1317 spectrum. To make matters worse, PEG operators, municipal clerks, mayors, and consumers were not notified of this switch. Altice Government Affairs stated they notified everyone. Notifications for the municipal and consumer level were nowhere to be found. This change not only affected us here in New Jersey but also in New York and Connecticut.

This gave all impacted communities no time to communicate with their residents about the switch. Both systemwide and local franchise agreements may have been violated with this unannounced change. Many municipalities questioned if it was allowed by their local franchise agreements or if the customers might need a new piece of equipment to view the channels. JAG Member, Howard Myers of Edison, NJ asked for a copy of this notification from Altice directly and was sent the following, after the switch occurred:

Good morning, Howard. Please see additional information on Edison PEG TV channel relocation:

PEG Channel Relocation:

Beginning August 19th through August 22nd, Optimum will be repositioning the location of our PEG channels (Public, Education, and Government Access) to a centralized location. These new channel assignments will allow for easier customer navigation and a better user experience, as all PEG channels will now be conveniently located within the same range [see chart above].

All customers subscribing to Basic cable or higher will continue to receive these channels in their video package, and there will be no change to any packaging or pricing as a result of this activity.

Customer Notifications:

Customers will receive advanced(30-day) notification regarding the repositioning of these channels via bill messaging—”Starting August 19, 2025, Your Local Access, Public Education, & Government Channels will be moved to a new channel position between 1300 and 1317 please check your local listings.”

Additionally, once the channels have moved, on-air channel slates will direct customers to the new channel positioning. Anyone tuning in to the previous channel numbers will be guided to the updated locations.

Customers can always find Optimum’s current channel lineup on our website at https://www.optimum.net/pages/channel-lineups.html.

Hope this helps explain the channel relocation, our steps to notify customers, and any other questions on channel lineup.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Brian

Brian Quinn

Senior Director, Government Affairs

JAG Takes Action

When JAG heard about this move, we took quick and decisive action to understand what was happening, what it meant, and what actions we could take. JAG notified the NJ BPU Office of Cable Television and our members. We were astonished by the sentence in the letter that stated that “these new channel assignments will allow for easier customer navigation and a better user experience.” Easier for the customer to navigate? Some customers have been watching our stations for 35+ years. They know where to find us. Better customer experience? Those 1300 channels are in the HD Spectrum. We are still in SD format.

JAG President, Bob Duthaler sent a list of items for all affected systems needed to research out immediately:

• Do you have a local franchise agreement or was this under the Systemwide (State) agreement?

If the answer is Local – check your franchise agreement out to make sure they didn’t violate any terms in your agreement by doing this. If it is Systemwide, then not much can be done.

• If you have a local franchise agreement, do you have a stipulation about this?

I put in clauses that if they change, they pay us a fee to help rebrand.

• Have you checked with your municipal clerk’s office to see if they sent a letter stating they were changing your PEG channel location?

If the answer is no letter, then I would file a complaint with the BPU immediately.

• Have you checked any of your cable bills (go back at least 6 months) to see if they state in the bill that they are moving the local PEG channels shortly?

If the answer is again, no notification, then I would file a complaint with the BPU immediately.

• Can you get channels 1300-1317 with a normal cable box, meaning without spending additional fees for beyond basic cable?

If the answer is you need something beyond the basic cable service to see those channels, then they are in violation of the Federal Cable Act and NJ Cable Act, and you should notify the BPU immediately.

For the BPU to act and see if any rules or agreements have been broken, municipalities must file first with them. Any letters you and your towns write to Altice to continue to express your reactions to and thoughts about what happened or any possible future actions should copy the BPU. The BPU needs to receive all formal complaints from the affected municipalities in order for them to investigate and explore further.

Apparently, some municipalities registered complaints. On August 28, JAG member Jan Zachary of Manalapan, NJ forwarded the following letter from Altice about switching us back (note that it was addressed to the BPU):

August 28, 2025

Ms. Lawanda Gilbert, Director

Ms. Sherri L. Lewis, Secretary of the Board

NJ Board of Public Utilities

Office of Cable Television and Telecommunications

44 South Clinton Avenue, 1st Floor

Trenton, NJ 08625

Re: Public, Education & Government (PEG) Channel Relocation

Dear Ms. Gilbert and Ms. Lewis:

Altice USA, Inc. (“Optimum” or “the Company”) hereby notifies the Board of Public Utilities (“BPU”) of the following updates to Optimum TV lineups.

As previously noticed to the BPU, between August 19, 2025, and August 22, 2025, the Company relocated Public, Education & Government (“PEG”) channels to new channel positions. These updated channel assignments were designed to place all PEG content within a dedicated and easily accessible channel block between channels 1300–1317.

Following that notice, the Company received feedback from local municipalities and other stakeholders who expressed concerns regarding the changes. After careful consideration of this input, while Optimum continues to believe that the changes would have provided benefits to customers, the Company has decided to return PEG channels to their prior channel positions, on or about September 16, 2025.

Optimum values the perspectives of its municipal partners and customers and takes the feedback received seriously. The Company will continue to review its channel lineups on an ongoing basis to ensure that lineups are managed in a way that balances customer needs, operational considerations, and the evolving programming landscape, and may revisit channel positioning at a future date.

The Company will issue an email communication to affected customers in the coming days to inform them of the restored channel positions. Once channels are repositioned, on-air channel slates will be activated to direct viewers to the new channel locations, and impacted customers will be notified through bill messages or inserts of these changes.

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by email at Brian.Quinn@Optimum.com.

Sincerely,

Brian Quinn

Senior Director, Government Affairs

Please let JAG know if you have not been changed back after this date. Please also review your franchise agreements and be prepared for the likelihood of this happening again soon. JAG highly recommends that your municipality send a letter immediately to Altice and copy the BPU Office of Cable Television on this relocation of PEG channels and the adverse effect it had on your consumers.

JAG Webinar

JAG will be holding a special webinar on Monday, September 29 at 11am to further discuss this, so we may provide insight and further information to our membership and municipalities (details to follow). JAG is also teaming up with New York and Connecticut to understand how we can work together to fight for your consumer rights and consumer protection issues such as this issue.