After years of negotiations, the Town of Wareham may soon have a contract signed with local cable access network Wareham Community Television.

WCTV broadcasts on Comcast channels 9 and 97, and Verizon channels 30 and 28. It has separate contracts with each provider.

Matthew Underhill, the town's Director of Information Technology, used to serve on the Cable Advisory Committee. Underhill appeared before the Selectmen on Tuesday to help “expedite the process,” he said.

“The town has a contract with the cable companies,” Underhill explained. “Within those agreements, [WCTV] can receive funding from the town.”

Under the contract, both cable companies pay 4% of gross revenues from cable services in the Town of Wareham to WCTV, and 0.5% to the town, according to Underhill.

Currently, there is approximately $177,000 from Comcast, and $89,000 from Verizon being held in an account “waiting to be released,” Underhill said.

Wareham "should no longer be forwarding this money to WCTV until we have a contract,” said Underhill.

WCTV hammered out separate contracts with Comcast and Verizon in 2005 and 2007, respectively. The TV station was incorporated as a nonprofit in 2007.

Underhill says that the finalization of the contract with the town has been stymied in part by the high turnover in a number of town departments, and changes on the Board of Selectmen.

“This isn’t the same board, board members are coming and going,” he said.

Underhill added that since 2007, when WCTV gained its nonprofit status, Wareham has had several town administrators. And whenever that top job has been vacated, WCTV has had to start over contract negotiations.

“There’s no continuity," he told the Selectmen.

According to Underhill, part of the purpose of establishing an agreement between WCTV and the town is to outline what responsibility WCTV has to the town with regard to recording various local government meetings.

With regard to the contract, Selectmen Chair Steve Holmes said, “We’ve all read it 100 times now.”

Selectman Alan Slavin quipped: “This has been a long wedding.”

Holmes suggested meeting with WCTV board members at the Selectmen's Feb. 26 meeting.

“If there are no aggressive changes, we can get it done,” said Holmes.