The MI-Connection Communications System board of directors is considering a shift to quarterly, instead of monthly meetings, as it works to guide the system to profitability. At a brief board meeting Thursday night at Davidson Town Hall, the board also approved an amended 2012 budget that incorporates slightly higher revenues and expenses.

At Thursday’s meeting, board chair John Venzon of Davidson discussed the meeting shift with fellow board members. Mr. Venzon said he’d like to see more work done in subcommittees of one or two board members, to discuss issues that don’t require board votes and provide advice to the cable system’s management.

“I’d like to see us move to a standing quarterly board meeting, with quarterly financial reports,” Mr. Venzon said. Not vote was taken, but several board members in the teleconference meeting expressed support for the idea.

MI-Connection is the local communications and cable TV network owned by the towns of Davidson and Mooresville. As a municipal system, it operates under public information and public meetings laws. Mr. Venzon and company officials have at times expressed concern that the company is at a disadvantage, because competitors have access to operating information that MI-Connection can’t get about its private sector competitors.

Shifting to a quarterly meeting schedule would still be in compliance with public meeting laws, and would still be in keeping with the contract between the two towns that governs MI-Connection. (That agreement requires only quarterly meetings, officials said Thursday.)

At Thursday’s meeting, the board voted 5-0 in favor of an amended budget that makes only minor changes in the previously approved budget.  CEO David Auger said the new budget added about $170,000 in operating revenue due to higher sales of the company’s cable and internet services, and lower than expected costs for programming.

But expenses also were up, about the same amount. The largest increase against the budget was a $122,000 refund that failed to materialize. The company had hoped to get a state refund for overpaid copyright fees over several years, but its refund request was denied, Mr. Auger said.

In the end, the budget changes did not change the company’s key results – net income, capital expenses and operating earnings all were the same as previously approved. Total revenues are expected to end at $16 million for the year.

Also Thursday, the board welcomed two of its members back onto the board – both Ken Essex and Steve Miller were reappointed by the two town’s commissioners in recent votes.

June 28, 2012, 2011-2012 MI-Connection budget amendment