HAMPDEN – Cable subscribers in Hampden should see their monthly bills go down, at least a little bit, after town councilors voted Monday to cut back the franchise fee it receives from Adelphia through subscribers.

Councilors voted unanimously to cut back the fee from 5 percent to the minimum 1 percent of revenues Adelphia receives from Hampden subscribers, something that could save customers up to about $8 monthly.

Each percentage point represents between $6,000 and $7,000, and the money was to compensate towns like Hampden for use of the right of way. A number of communities in the area use those reimbursement fees to help cover the cost of local cable programming.

But councilors said the money, an estimated $30,000 each year, has been used to offset tax increases in the town, and it didn’t appear, at least for the near future, that it could be used to provide cable access.

Adelphia charges $10.75 for its broadcast package, $41.25 for its basic cable service and has other packages offering digital cable and premium channel options. Mayor Rick Briggs estimated Wednesday that the reduction in the franchise fees could save customers $1.90 to $8 a month.

Briggs described Monday’s decision as a “clearing of the conscience.” While the council isn’t opposed to providing local coverage, there has been little interest expressed in developing local access programming, he and other councilors have said.

The council did not eliminate the fee altogether because 1 percent is required to be returned to a local consortium of cable-subscribing communities.