LMC Board Responds

LMC Media respectfully submits the following comments in response to the Mamaroneck Observer article, “Should the Village Save LMC Media?” published April 15, 2026.  We appreciate the opportunity to provide important context, clarify our history, and address several unintended misconceptions.

Last Monday, residents from every corner of our community (grandparents, high schoolers, podcasters, even a four-year-old fan of LMC Kids) packed the Village Board of Trustees meeting to speak for LMC Media.  That turnout isn't an uproar over money.  It is a community showing up to defend something it built.

Because LMC Media is not an outside vendor.  It is an institution that the Villages of Mamaroneck and Larchmont and the Town of Mamaroneck helped to create together more than forty years ago – as the answer to a question every community eventually faces: how do we make sure local government, local voices, and local stories don't disappear?

That framing matters, because the question posed by "Should the Village Save LMC Media?" suggests LMC is something to be rescued, or not.  It isn't.  In 1984, three municipalities decided their residents deserved a place of their own to be seen, heard, and informed.  From every Board of Trustees meeting streamed live, to local business owner spotlights, to high-school filmmakers' career paths, to seniors featured on a local show, and every story no outside outlet would cover.  That is LMC and it belongs to this community.

We are committed to working constructively with the Village of Mamaroneck to find a path forward that best serves the community.  This requires transparent communication between both parties.  After 40+ years of dedicated service to the Village, we were presented with a contract that would reduce our funding beyond a sustainable level, and we received that contract a month before the Village budget is to be finalized.  Prior to the budget hearing, we sent several emails to the Village Manager and the Trustees asking for clarity and transparency on the discrepancies between the tentative budget, the proposed contract amounts, as well as how either aligns with the December 11, 2023 resolution and historical funding levels.  Those questions went unanswered, and therefore we felt it was necessary to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on April 13, 2026, and state our position on record.

We also want to correct/clarify a few things about the history reflected in the article: 

•       LMC-TV was established by the Community Cable Coalition, a group of Larchmont and Mamaroneck residents who formed a nonprofit organization to manage the Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) access needs of the municipalities under a new franchise agreement.  Additionally, we would like to clarify that Joel Banow was the first hired employee, serving as part-time Coordinator. Joe Fraioli was not the first director.

•       When LMC was founded, the municipalities joined together to form a Board of Control (BOC) that designated roles such as treasurer and administrator, which were municipally selected and funded through franchise fees.  From 1984 until the disbandment of the BOC, franchise revenues from cable providers were administered to LMC through the BOC.  LMC followed a consistent and transparent budgeting process.  In addition, although not required, LMC elected to conduct annual independent audits to ensure full transparency. That practice continues to this day.

•       From the inception of the BOC until 2011, all franchise funds the communities received were used exclusively to support LMC operations and Board of Control costs. 

•       In 2011, then Larchmont Mayor, Josh Mandell, led the tri-municipalities to begin taking a portion of the franchise fees and dividing it between the municipalities based upon the percent in population per the 1980 census.  Beginning in 2011, franchise funds were withheld at a rate of $350,000 per year across all three municipalities to accommodate other general budget shortfalls.  However, Anthony Siligato, the Board of Control treasurer, pointed out that if this practice continued, the reserve fund that had been set aside for franchise agreement renegotiations - which are the way to make sure each municipality gets their fair share of franchise fees - would be drained.  He was correct, and beginning 2019, these withholdings steadily decreased, and the total across all three municipalities in 2022 was $100,000. This is the last year for which we have this data. 

•       On December 11, 2023 the VOM Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution in which trust accounts were authorized to protect both the franchise funds and PEG grants.  Mayor Sharon Torres and Trustee Nora Lucas both voted to approve the resolution.  Trustee Lucas can be quoted during the passing of the vote as saying, "The Town of Mamaroneck and the Village of Mamaroneck are receiving the PEG funds but they are for use by LMC, so this is an account to segregate them so that we can give them back to LMC, where they belong."  The meeting can be found on the LMC Media website in its entirety.

It is also important to clarify recent financial activity referenced in the article.  A significant payment made by the Village of Mamaroneck in 2024, reflects a one-time correction of funds that had been mistakenly directed to the Village of Larchmont by the cable providers.  LMC drove a nine-month reconciliation process, to make sure the VOM got their fair share of the franchise fees.  Once that was completed, the Village of Mamaroneck issued a lump sum payment to address the shortfall.  This was not an increase in regular funding, but rather a correction of funds that had effectively been “lost in transit”.  LMC was the one that brought this mistake to the VOM’s attention.  As a longstanding partner, we believe in transparency and service to all three communities.

Finally, we restate our desire to have a transparent dialogue with the VOM, not to be saved, but to continue telling the Village’s story.  The tentative budget includes a line item for a new publicist, but Mamaroneck already has the best storyteller it could ask for- LMC.  We and the community that turned up on Monday just want to keep it that way.

Respectfully,

LMC Media Board of Directors