What’s Wrong With This Picture?

It’s a battle good enough for pay-per-view.

The city of Ventura, preparing to renegotiate its 15-year cable TV franchise agreement with Century Communication Corp., last fall asked the firm to explain why it charges twice as much as the county average for basic service.

Century officials ignored numerous requests, city officials say, then responded with a proposal to raise their rates even more.

Days later, Century petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to strip the city of its Congressionally granted rate-setting authority. The city hired a team of Washington, D.C., lawyers to make its case.

Last week the city threw another punch, not only rejecting Century’s proposed $1.89-a-month rate increase but ordering a $6.43 cut--and making the rollback retroactive for 13 1/2 months.

Tune in tomorrow for the next thrilling episode . . . .

With the contract expiring on Oct. 1 and the company so apparently eager to gouge Ventura residents (as courts have decreed it gouged residents of several Los Angeles County communities), one obvious solution would be for the city to tell Century to take a hike.

Other cities have done this successfully, although it’s trickier to replace a company that owns wires connecting nearly 16,000 homes than it is to, say, hire a new gardener. The key is for the city to be legally positioned to do exactly that, and that is where the City Council is headed. It’s a popular crusade and our hearts are with them.

But an even more obvious solution would be for Century to bring its rates in line with those charged by other Ventura County cable systems, show a little less arrogance toward the city and a lot more respect for its customers. It could save a bundle in legal fees.

Will it happen? Stay tuned . . . .