Selectmen Seek Injunction to Block 32 Percent Cable TV Rate Hike-August 21, 1985

The Norwood Board of Selectmen decided last night to seek legal intervention to halt a planned 32 percent increase in local cable television rates. Adams-Russell Cablevision recently notified its 5,800 Norwood customers that the rate hike will officially go into effect on September 1, but town selectmen firmly believe their existing contract with the company strictly bars any such increase.

“On the advice of town counsel, we’re going to proceed to get an injunction to stop the increase,” Selectmen Chairman John Kinnaly announced. John Kinnaly added that the formal court action will be filed “as soon as possible.”

During a closed executive session, the four selectmen present met with Town Counsel Justin C. Barton and members of the Norwood Cable Television Commission. The board voted unanimously to seek the court-ordered injunction to block the rate hike. Selectman Thomas Riolo was absent from the meeting and did not cast a vote. Justin C. Barton stated that he was still evaluating whether the injunction request would be filed locally in Superior Court in Dedham or within the Federal District Court system in Boston.

Adams-Russell Cablevision announced the sweeping rate changes late last month. The proposed adjustments include raising the monthly charge for “Super Cable”—a premium package that combines basic stations with premium movie channels like HBO—which would nearly double by jumping from $7.50 to $14.50. Under the new structure, local subscribers will also be forced to purchase the entire “Super Cable” package simply to receive certain standard stations that are currently offered on a separate, individual basis. Furthermore, the auxiliary fee for hooking up additional television sets at a single address would spike from $2.50 each to $6. Taken together, these changes would cause the average residential cable bill to jump 32 percent, rising from $25 a month to approximately $32.

Company officials from Adams-Russell Cablevision defended the aggressive pricing strategy, stating that the rate increases are absolutely necessary to stem the ongoing loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year caused by unsustainably low historical rates. Conversely, several Norwood town officials contend that the proposed increase represents a direct violation of the town’s franchise agreement. According to municipal leaders, the contract explicitly prohibits any rate increases for at least two years after the town formally certifies that the physical cable system is entirely complete.

Town officials argue that a critical portion of the network known as the “institutional link” remains completely unfinished, meaning the mandatory two-year rate freeze has not even legally begun, let alone expired. Jay Somers, a representative speaking on behalf of Adams-Russell Cablevision, disputed this characterization, asserting that the institutional link is already fully wired. Jay Somers further argued that the status of the institutional link should carry no bearing on the consumer rate structure because that specific link is provided to the town administration completely free of charge.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger