The owner of 1070 WKMB(AM) in northern New Jersey is at risk of losing the station’s license if it doesn’t settle more than $32,000 in regulatory fees.
The FCC sent an order to pay or show cause to World Harvest Communications, the owner of the Stirling, N.J., AM station, located in Morris County. The unpaid fees totaling $32,367 date back to 2010 and include missed deadlines for 12 of the last 14 fiscal years.
The commission said it assessed late penalties, accrued interest and administrative costs when determining the final payback amount. The debts had been transferred to the U.S. Department of Treasury for collection but were transferred back to the commission at its request.
The notice sent out to WKMB sets a 60-day timer for the station to either settle the unpaid balance in full or provide sufficient evidence on why the payment is not applicable or should be waived or deferred. If World Harvest fails to do so, the commission has the authority to revoke its license “for failure to pay regulatory fees (or related interest and penalties) in a timely fashion.”
In dealing with WKMB’s previous delinquencies, the commission issued “red light” letters for its failure to pay regulatory fees in 2015 and 2017. Failure to respond to the 2017 letter resulted in a dismissal for WKMB’s pending renewal application. But the station had its renewal reinstated later in the year.
Most recently, the commission said it sent a demand letter to WKMB regarding the unpaid regulatory fees. The FCC’s Audio Division also notified World Harvest President Gary Kirkwood by email of the delinquencies in 2023. Kirkwood’s King’s Temple Ministries bought the AM signal in 2003.
The annual regulatory fees of broadcast stations help cover operational costs of the FCC’s Media Bureau and its 140 full-time employees. The commission said it may waive, reduce or defer payment of fee debt where good cause is shown but it interprets the provision “narrowly.”
WKMB runs a Gospel-music format. It’s also heard on translator 100.7 W264BT(FM), licensed to Edison, N.J., in Middlesex County. The station recently posted a GoFundMe to raise money to find a new studio location.
