News

Audit claims Spectrum owes thousands to multiple Maine towns

The audit claims that Spectrum underpaid nine Maine municipalities totally more than $140,000.

|Sean Stackhouse, News Center Maine|

MAINE, USA — Multiple towns in Maine are asking the cable and internet provider Spectrum to pay up after an audit claims the company unpaid thousands in fees.

The audit alleges that Spectrum failed to pay more than $142,000 in franchise fees to nine towns in Southern Maine through 2017 and 2018.

Franchise fees are paid to cities and towns by cable and internet providers for the use of public rights of way for things like running cables. According to the audit, local governments are entitled to up to five percent of gross revenues from cable television services, including revenues from advertising and subscriptions.

The nine towns that participated in the audit include Cape Elizabeth, Casco, Cumberland, Gray, Harrison, Naples, New Gloucester, Windham, Yarmouth with each town allegedly owed between $1,000 to $31,000.

Keep reading and view the News Center video report here.

Screenshot from News Center Maine video