City council members got their first taste of Warner Cable’s compliance with the Cable Consumer Protection Act Congress passed last year at Monday night’s meeting.

Andy Bast, general manager of DeKalb Warner Cable Communications, explained how cable subscribers will be affected by recent FCC rules and negotiations between major broadcast networks and cable carriers.

Under the new law broadcasters now have the option to charge cable companies for their stations, which Bast says is not fair because it will cost cable customers more money for a service they are already receiving.

“Cash for carriage is not fair for our customers,” he said. “We don’t want to remove any current stations, but we’re not backing down.”

If an agreement is not reached by Oct. 6, major Chicago stations such as WMAQ-NBC and WLS-ABC could be cut from the cable customers viewing package, only leaving basic cable stations like ESPN, CNN and Lifetime.

Bast said short of another act of Congress, this is what cable companies must live with whether they like it or not.

DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow said the matter has been out of the council’s hands since negotiations started in 1984, and if a resolution is not found by the deadline, Warner Cable customers are not left with many choices.

“Their only option, though very expensive, is to go out and buy their own antenna so they can receive all the stations they want,” he said.

In other business, the council approved eight Human Service Agency grants in omnibus fashion totalling $185,000 that will be allocated from the General Fund.

The following agencies were awarded monies: Ben Gordon Center: $5,000, DCP/Safe: $3,000, Family Services Agency: $36,000, 4-C’s: $23,500, Hope Haven: $7,000, Safe Passage: $15,000, Voluntary Action Center: $45,000 and Youth Services Bureau: $51,500.

An additional grant of $10,000 was awarded in a separate action on June 28 to the DeKalb County Chapter of the American Red Cross from the Economic Development Fund.

Also, the council approved the Illinois Department of Transportation’s request to close Lincoln Highway from Third Street to Castle Drive during the NIU Homecoming parade on Oct. 16.

This year the usual route passes by a variety of planned construction projects, including watermain construction on Castle Drive and the installation of new entrance signs and monuments at the intersections of Castle Drive and Lincoln Highway.