The city, strapped for cash and facing another year of budget cuts, has indicated it may need to cut funding to the channel.

Chris Wasmund, director of KSAR, has been working furiously to ensure that the doors of the KSAR studios stay open.

"I fervently hope that they do not stop funding all at once. I hope it will be a gradual process," Wasmund said.

She has been going to meetings, drawing up proposals and talking to city council members. "I am waiting to hear how much funding we are going to get this year. We want to plan so that we are no longer dependent on the city in two or three years," said Wasmund.

She is a veteran in the world of community television. Wasmund worked at San Jose's community access channel for eight years. "We faced the threat of cutbacks there too, but eventually nothing happened," she said.

Tom Moran, who is on the KSAR board, has been involved with the channel since the late 1980s. "I have done everything from hauling cables to running cameras," he said.

"We're going to keep on going; we're not going to disappear," he said. "We will ask for donations, maybe even do a telethon."

Moran wants the city to work efficiently. "Pulling the plug and turning off the lights is not very efficient," he said.

Most of KSAR's funding now comes from a fee that Comcast pays to the city. The city in turn gives KSAR the money for operational expenses. The channel also has an agreement with West Valley College so that it can use the college's studio facilities.

"We better think of the little guys, in this case the community access channel," said Wasmund. "How important is freedom of speech when compared to landscaping a median in Saratoga? This is the only local television channel that discusses matters of importance in the community."

Wasmund believes that operations like KSAR will have to drastically change and reinvent themselves in order to survive. "We will become more of a nonprofit than we have in the past. We will fundraise and look for grant money," she said.

Wasmund has big dreams for KSAR. "It's in a beautiful location and it has great potential," she said. "I have 235 ideas."

Some of those ideas are already being put into shape.

After many years, KSAR has again started offering studio production classes to members of the community. "We teach them how to operate a camera or how to build a set. We also teach them about audio equipment," said Wasmund.

The studio production classes cost $45 and are usually offered on Saturdays.

Wasmund and Moran plan to encourage entities like the Chamber of Commerce or the senior center to come and shoot public service announcements at the KSAR studio.

"We are a diverse community. I plan to have more programs related to different cultures," said Wasmund.

Other possible plans include offering video streaming clips on KSAR's website so that some programs will be available on demand.

"We will uplink to the server so that people can watch our programs on a computer," Wasmund said. Another plan is to telecast high school football games.