{"id":2338,"date":"2026-06-08T08:03:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T08:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:03:06","slug":"oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\/","title":{"rendered":"Oceanside says no money in budget for local TV station KOCT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KOCT board members, saying times are tough for the community television station, made another plea to the Oceanside City Council for financial assistance, but the council said the budget is tight with nothing to spare.<\/p>\n

Read more Chula Vista council delays vote on affordable housing funding for second time<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have the funds,\u201d said Mayor Esther Sanchez on Wednesday before the council unanimously approved its fiscal 2026-27 budget of $743.7 million for general operations and capital improvements.<\/p>\n

Last year, the council approved a one-time payment of $175,000 for KOCT, saying it could not afford to continue helping the station with money from the city\u2019s general fund. The station\u2019s operators had requested up to $250,000.<\/p>\n

KOCT\u2019s primary financial support is what\u2019s called \u201cpublic, education and governmental\u201d or PEG funding from a fee charged to cable subscribers. However, that revenue is declining as more viewers cut the cord and rely on streaming services. The station\u2019s PEG funding went from $468,093 in fiscal 2018 to $269,000 in FY 2024, according to the city.<\/p>\n

The station\u2019s viewers and board members asked the council to find a way to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe face headwinds of increased costs, equipment failure and cable-cutting, and we need your support,\u201d said board Chair Kent Davy, the retired editor of The North County Times newspaper.<\/p>\n

The station\u2019s staff has increased its revenue from other sources, kept its payroll under budget and delivered on all its contract items with the city,\u00a0 he said. The station airs Oceanside\u2019s City Council and various commission meetings, and reports on local events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t really do much more than this,\u201d Davy said. \u201cWe are going to face a fiscal crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Marco Werman, a National Public Radio reporter and program host for 40 years, said the station is a \u201ctop-notch, world-class facility, extremely well-managed\u201d and, like many public radio stations, it has lost grant funding and staff members under federal budget cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs citizens, we need to know what goes on in our backyard,\u201d Werman said. \u201cOutlets like KOCT should not feel under threat or endangered. They have to be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

KOCT is a resource that \u201ccannot be replicated or outsourced,\u201d said Amy Forsythe, an Oceanside resident and retired Navy public affairs officer assigned to Camp Pendleton in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n

The station has been \u201cthe top training pipeline\u201d for broadcast careers in North County, Forsythe said. People who started at KOCT have gone on to work at TV stations in San Diego and the top 20 media markets across the country.<\/p>\n

Read more First came Congress. Now a national redistricting battle may turn to statehouses and city councils<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cOnce institutions like this disappear, they are incredibly difficult, if not impossible to replace,\u201d Forsythe said.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Eric Joyce said he would like to support the station, and that perhaps the council could find a way to do that at a future meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, it\u2019s essential that we stand up for publicly funded journalism in our community,\u201d Joyce said.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Rick Robinson said tax revenue expected from some of the cannabis business opening in the city might be a source of money for the station in the future.<\/p>\n

The City Council got its first look at the 2026-27 budget in April, when it gave preliminary approval to the spending plan while advising caution.<\/p>\n

City Manager Jonathan Borrego said at the time that Oceanside is entering a period \u201cof economic uncertainty\u201d and \u201ca lot of things going on nationally could have an impact locally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oceanside and most other cities expect cuts in federal and state funding for things such as the community development block grants that help pay for social service programs every year.<\/p>\n

Despite the worrisome outlook, the city\u2019s budget is balanced and includes money to hire three additional police officers, two more firefighters and some part-time assistants in the the library and parks and recreation departments.<\/p>\n

Staff members gave credit to forward-thinking residents and elected officials for keeping the budget in the black, while other cities such as San Diego are looking at deficits and layoffs.<\/p>\n

One reason for Oceanside\u2019s good fortune is Measure X, a temporary half-cent sales tax that provides millions of dollars annually for public safety, homeless assistance and other high-priority services. In November 2024, Oceanside voters approved a 10-year extension of the original seven-year tax increase.<\/p>\n

Read more San Diegans voted for far more police oversight. Little has materialized, a new report finds.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City Council approves final spending plan for the year ahead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOceanside says no money in budget for local TV station KOCT - Los Angeles Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oceanside says no money in budget for local TV station KOCT - Los Angeles Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"City Council approves final spending plan for the year ahead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/08\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Los Angeles Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-08T15:03:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7f420a994f0482cf24e152087599bfb\"},\"headline\":\"Oceanside says no money in budget for local TV station KOCT\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T15:03:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":747,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/e773976d09527f485b21a49a61af3d90.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/08\\\/oceanside-says-no-money-in-budget-for-local-tv-station-koct\\\/\",\"name\":\"Oceanside says no money in budget for local TV station KOCT - 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