The City of Opp and the Opp Utilities Board are expected to approve the sale of Opp CableVision to Andy Cable at a special meeting this morning.

Opp Mayor John Bartholomew told the Star-News Wednesday afternoon that the purchase price is expected to be $4.5 million.

Bartholomew said the cable portion of the utilities department has lost a bit of money the last five years, but the sale also has to do with the expenses surrounding continuous updating of the equipment.

“The city’s not really in a position to do this,” he said. “This will help the city by not losing the money. We will be able to put that back in the city.”

Bartholomew said the extra money will help with the city’s budget deficit, and customers can expect to have no down time.

Bartholomew said the only thing that will change is that customers will begin receiving a bill from Andy Cable.

Additionally, Bartholomew said no employees will lose their jobs.

“They are taking all of our employees and keeping them on at the same pay,” he said.

Bartholomew said he hopes the city can close on the deal by January.