SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen halted the discussion of the Saugus Cable Television (SCTV) Fiscal Year 2026 budget Tuesday night after the discussion hit some roadblocks.
Sandro Pansini, a member of the Board of Directors and treasurer of SCTV, led the discussion on the budget.“First, I wanted to express our continued commitment to providing high-quality, transparent, and community-centered programming for the town of Saugus,” Pansini said.
He then began listing out the budget, with total salaries and expenses coming to $333,675, total payroll expenses being $275,675, employer taxes coming out to $26,000, simple IRA being $10,000, healthcare stipends were $19,500, and payroll services and fees were $2,500. The total operations expense was $101,100; the administrative fee was $50,900; computer internet and subscriptions were $16,200; building maintenance, equipment, and repairs were $16,400; and facilities and utilities were $17,600.
“Our fiscal year ‘26 budget total is $434,775, representing a modest increase over last year’s actuals. This adjustment reflects targeted investments in our staff, infrastructure, and operational resilience,” he said.
Pansini also said salary adjustments ensure that SCTV remains competitive, and rewards the hard work being done at the station.
“We also increased funding for healthcare stipends, legal support, and utilities responding to both rising costs and the realities of operating a public access station in today’s media environment,” he said.
Vice Chair Jeff Cicolini immediately expressed his concern with the budget due to a trend in declining revenue when looking at subscriptions.
“We had a 3.24% decrease from ‘23 to ‘24, (and) a projected 8.49% decrease from ‘24 to ‘25 in revenues. Even if 8% carried forward, your revenues for ‘26 would be pushing around $358,000,” Cicolini said. “I, for one, am never comfortable approving a deficit budget.”
He emphasized that by looking at the numbers in the budget, it isn’t sustainable and has been a concern brought up during the last two budget cycles.
“This was a concern that I had when we talked about the administrative position that was filled because I didn’t know what the means to afford and support that was,” Cicolini said.
He continued that 60% of the projected deficit was coming from that position and that there was a major revenue problem not just for SCTV but throughout the industry due to streaming. “Streaming is the present and the future,” he said.
Cicolini emphasized that the station has been “fantastic” with all of the coverage it provides with limited resources, but the revenue isn’t there to support it right now.
Chair Debra Panetta agreed with Cicolini, and stated that the current contract with Comcast is ending in January of 2027 and that the SCTV board at the time will have to negotiate with them. Panetta has experience in this, where at one point she was treasurer of SCTV.
In addressing the current state of the budget, Panetta asked, “Out of your five employees, are they all full-time, or are they full-time and part-time?”
Michell Fox (Madar), executive director of SCTV, stepped up, saying that only the administrative assistant is part-time. It was also mentioned that though the position typically calls for 20-25 hours a week, the station has built the budget to allow for a possible 29-hour week.
Pansini explained that SCTV is paying a lot less for the position versus the towns and cities around them. He pointed out that while their administrative assistant is making around $50,000, around Massachusetts, the position is making $120,000.
“A lot of things come into play,” Cicolini said. “A lot of the municipalities that are cities that have high populations have significantly higher revenue on their PEG (Public, Education, and Government) access because of the number of subscribers.”
After going back and forth on certain topics about expenses and how things are split between SCTV and the Saugus Historical Society, who share a building with the station, there was no clear end in sight for the budget dialogue.
The discussion ended with both the selectmen and SCTV agreeing to table it until the next meeting on April 1.
